


After Earthshock

by MedieavalBeabe



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Fanfic, Multi, space travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-04-24
Updated: 2014-01-08
Packaged: 2017-12-09 09:32:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 28,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/772681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MedieavalBeabe/pseuds/MedieavalBeabe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the events of Earthshock, the freighter crash lands on Earth, killing the dinosaurs but Adric somehow survives. He quickly finds himself aboard the Starship Persephone; but can he find a place to belong amongst the crew?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Genesis

A bang. 

A blast of light. 

An explosion. 

Particles of rock and light.

Nyssa began to weep. 

“Adric?” whispered Tegan. “Doctor?” And then she began to weep too. 

The Doctor said nothing. He did not weep. He stared at the screen. Adric. The boy he trusted. The boy he cared about; and had never stated to do so to anyone, even him. His companion. His friend. He was gone. Forever. Gone. 

*

Adric raised his head. It ached and he winced as he put a hand up to it. His fingers came away bloody. For a second, he remembered nothing, not even his own name; and then slowly, like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, it all came back to him. 

The Cybermen. They had begun it. When that dying one had blasted the controls before he could complete his calculations and steer the freighter away from Earth, the thing had collided with the planet. But was this right? Adric pushed himself up onto his knees. His head was throbbing. So, he was still alive then? But how? The blast had wiped out the powerful dinosaurs; why, there was one lying not far away from him, dead as a doornail, as the Doctor would put it. So, how was he still alive?

The Doctor. The Tardis. Adric staggered to his feet. It was a long shot, but maybe the Doctor had landed the Tardis somewhere close by. 

“Doctor?” Coughing in the smoke from the wreckage around him, he looked around. “Doctor?”

No use. No Doctor to answer. No Nyssa calling his name. No Tegan joyfully shouting. No one. Well, he had said it was a long shot. He studied the layout of the landscape. The trees were burning from the explosion. Here and there, more of those creature the Doctor and Tegan called “dinosaurs” lay dead or dying. The land was undeveloped, primitive. 

Somehow, he realised, he had been flung from the wreckage the second it collided into the Earth but fallen with it to the ground. He touched his head again, tentatively. That seemed to have been the only injury he had sustained. 

“Why call out for the Doctor? He’s not going to help us now, is he?”

Adric jumped and looked around. Sitting in the branches of a burning tree was...himself? He blinked. What was this? Some kind of hallucination?

“He let us die,” the Adric in the tree reminded him.

“What?” Adric took a second to realise that his double was naked. “How did...what?”

“Use your brains, my friend. All that Cyber technology they left in the freighter exploded when it did. There was a cloning machine in there too. How do you think they managed to reproduce so quickly?”

Adric looked around, fearfully, in case there were more clones of himself around. To his relief, he saw none. “What do you mean?” he stammered. “The Doctor won’t help us? He would if he were here.”

“He let us die.” The Adric clone sneered, bitterly. “He could have saved us in the Tardis but he didn’t, did he?”

“Maybe he couldn’t.” Adric felt the wound on his forehead again. “The Cyber Leader was with them. He might have...damaged the controls or something.”

“Come on; the Doctor made it clear that he didn’t want us hanging around anymore.”

“That’s a lie!”

“Is it, Adric? He didn’t show us the same respect as Nyssa and Tegan, did he? He teased us, didn’t he? Criticised us, didn’t he?”

Adric shook his head. The Doctor had his faults, true, but he couldn’t believe that he could cease to care for any of his friends. “I refuse to believe this is real,” he decided. “You’re just a figment of my imagination; that part of me that liked to argue with the Doctor.”

“Call me what you like,” replied the clone. “You know I’m right.”

“No.” Adric shook his head. “The Doctor wouldn’t just abandon us...unless he had a good reason for it...” Even as he said it, he wasn’t sure he believed it. 

The Adric clone leapt down from the tree. “And what are we to do now, Adric? Rot with those beasts?” He waved a hand in the direction of the dinosaurs. “Or,” he added, seeing several large creatures with pincers scuttling off into the jungle. Adric knew what they were; he had heard the Doctor and Tegan call them scorpions. “Or, we survive with them,” the Adric clone mused. 

“You do what you like,” Adric told him. “I’m going to get out of here.”

“Have it your own way.” When Adric next looked up, his other self had gone. 

*

Commander Javon, the commander of the Starship Persephone, turned to his lieutenant. “Well?”

“Earth has been hit by the meteor, Commander,” Zavvi replied. “It is on course for the beginning of the evolution of the human race.”

The crew of the Starship Persephone had an unusual task; they were what had become known in the twenty second century as “a clean-up crew” or as the Commander liked to think of them “Time Monitors.” Using their basic time travel technology (stolen from Daleks of the twenty sixth century) their job was to monitor planets in the universe as they developed and make sure that nothing tampered with their development. Being time travellers, they knew their history of the planets; when they were to develop and what happened to make them develop. Their latest project was Earth. The meteor, which they had been taught the freighter was, had hit, and so it was right on track. 

“Good, good,” said the Commander, turning his attention, as usual, to the youngest member of the crew. “Tana!”

Tana jumped and looked up. As usual, she had been daydreaming. “Commander?”

“Get back to work!”

“Yes, sir.”

“Commander?” Tarkin, a cadet like Tana, looked up from his monitor. “The monitors are picking up a reading of something down there.”

“Probably the scorpions,” stated Zavvi, remembering her history lessons. “They survived the explosion, for some reason.”

“No, Zavvi. It’s human.”

“Human?”

“Already?” The Commander came over to his screen. “That’s impossible. They’re not due to evolve just yet.”

“Well, something’s down there,” Tarkin stated and it was true. The reading was quite clear for them all to see. 

“It’s not a Time Agent, is it?” asked Tana, leaving her seat to look over Tarkin’s shoulder. “They have been known to-”

“Tana, get back to work,” said the Commander. 

She sighed and did as she was told. 

“Commander, oughtn’t we check it out?” asked Zavvi. “If they meddle with something down there, it could affect the whole course of human history.”

The Commander had to agree with her. “Very well. Tarkin, hone in on that reading. Zavvi, fetch the equipment; and then take Ibson and Penton down there.”

“Yes, Commander,” said Zavvi, already on her way. 

“Can’t I come?” asked Tana. 

“No,” said the Commander shortly. 

Tana sighed. “But I never get to do anything. How can I learn if you won’t let me?”

Tarkin looked at the Commander. “She has a point, sir.”

The Commander sighed. “Very well, Tana, you may go; but do not touch anything unless Zavvi permits it so. Is that clear?”

“Yes, sir.”

“All is ready, Commander,” Zavvi stated, as she returned. 

“Very well. I have decided that Tana will be joining you.”

“Is that wise, sir? I mean, considering-?”

“It’s an order, Zavvi.”

“Very well, sir.” Zavvi looked at Tana. “Come along.”

*

Adric stumbled along through the forest. Everything seemed hazy now; and he wasn’t entirely sure whether it was all due to the effect of the explosion. He wasn’t even sure where he was going or what he would find. 

He tripped, suddenly, over the tail of one of the larger dead dinosaurs. Slamming into the ground with a cry of “Oof!” he lay still for a minute. It was hard to think properly, what with the constant throbbing in his head and the sounds of fire crackling and the sound of a spaceship nearby...

Spaceship? Adric raised his head. He couldn’t see anything but he could hear it. Or maybe he was hallucinating again? Maybe he was just hoping that someone was here? At any rate, it was all too much for him and he passed out...

*

Tana couldn’t help feeling excited as she looked around this new and evolving planet. She had never been to Earth before. Zavvi had told her stick close by for her own protection, she claimed, but Tana knew the truth. None of the crew trusted her with anything like this because she was so clumsy they were always afraid she’d do something daft and cause a fatal accident or something. That was why the Commander was always barking at her to get on with her work. 

She longed to explore the place, but Zavvi’s orders were for her to stay beside her and Penton, so she explored with her eyes instead, studying the landscape. “It’s beautiful,” she whispered. 

“Yes,” Penton agreed. “I wonder if Invertire looked like this thousands of years ago. It must have, surely?”

The party moved over in the direction of the area where Tarkin had seen the blip of human life on the monitor. “Zavvi to Commander,” said Zavvi into her radio, “no sign of anything yet. Ought we to split up?”

There was a crackle as the Commander hesitated. “Very well, but make sure Tana keeps her hands to herself.”

“Yes, Commander.”

“I’m not a child,” scowled Tana. 

Penton grinned. “Just don’t wander too far from my sight, Tana.”

“And don’t touch anything unless I give you leave,” Zavvi commanded her.

Tana nodded and moved away from them. To her left, the land dipped downwards in a valley and she made her way over there. She had only ever seen a dinosaur in pictures and she was hoping to spot one now, even if it were dead, it wouldn’t be any less real, would it? Glancing down the valley, she saw one; a Diplodocus, if remembered rightly. But what was that there beside it?

She gasped and looked around. Her companions were nowhere in sight. She fumbled for her radio. “Tana to Zavvi, do you read me?”

“This is Zavvi; what is it, Tana?”

“I see him! The humanoid Tarkin picked up!”

There was a crackle and then Zavvi asked “Are you sure?”

“Yes! Look, come here and see if you don’t believe me!” Tana reeled off her co-ordinates and then, taking a chance, slid down the hill to land beside the dinosaur and the boy. She touched the scaly skin. The dinosaur was very definitely dead and she dashed a tear of pity away from her eyes as she leaned over the boy. 

“Tana, don’t touch him!” Zavvi commanded, hurrying down the hill with Penton in her wake. “Let Penton; he’s a doctor after all.”

Penton gently eased Adric onto his back. “Nasty gash there,” he muttered, looking over the young mathematician. “Doesn’t seem to be in a bad state otherwise.”

“What’s that over there?” Tana pointed to a few bits of debris from the crashed freighter. 

Zavvi reached for her radio. “Zavvi to Commander; the meteor was a space freighter; repeat, the meteor was a space freighter.”

“Is there much left of it?”

“Besides the boy? No, there doesn’t seem to be.”

“You know what to do, Zavvi.”

Zavvi nodded and got to her feet. “Penton, take the boy back to the ship. Tana, go with him. I’ve got some cleaning up to do.”

By “cleaning up” she meant destroying the bits of the freighter in order for them not to be preserved and later discovered by human archaeologists. Such a thing could alter the course of human history dramatically. 

She readied her disintegrating gun. Tana got to her feet and went to help Penton help Adric to his feet. “No, no,” Penton said, hurriedly. “You lead the way. I’ll be alright.”

Adric blinked at them, groggily. Now what was happening? Two humans – were they humans? Or at least, they were humanoids were standing before him, one supporting him, the other waiting patiently in case she could do anything more to help. Another hallucination? 

Before he could make sense of it all, he passed out again...


	2. New Crew

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the events of Earthshock, the freighter crash lands on Earth, killing the dinosaurs but Adric somehow survives. He quickly finds himself aboard the Starship Persephone; but can he find a place to belong amongst the crew?

When Adric finally opened his eyes, he thought he must be going mad. One minute he had been in an overgrown jungle surrounded by dead dinosaurs and the next he was in a room that looked something like his own in the Tardis. The walls were grey metal and bare. The bed he was lying on was soft and he was able to push himself up and look around him. He touched his forehead. There was no blood; the wound seemed to have healed. 

“You’re lucky to be alive, young man,” said a voice to his left. 

Adric looked around. A tall, sturdy man with brown hair and a moustache, clad in a pale blue uniform, was standing beside his bed. “Sorry?” Adric stammered. 

“It seems you crashed your freighter into Earth,” said the man. “The whole thing exploded. It’s a miracle you survived.”

Now he remembered. “I didn’t...it wasn’t “my” freighter. I just got left aboard when it was on course to crash. I tried to stop it but...the controls were destroyed...” He remembered his words before the crash. “Now I’ll never know if I was right.”

“Sounds like you’ve been through quite a bit,” said the man, not unkindly. He offered a hand to Adric. “Welcome aboard. I am Commander Javon of the Starship Persephone.”

Adric shook his hand, politely. “Thank you. My name’s Adric.”

“Well, Adric, you try to get some rest and I’ll send Penton in.”

“Penton?”

“He’s our doctor.”

Adric blinked at him. “The Doctor.”

“Yes.”

“No, I mean-” Adric scrabbled off the bed. “Did he survive? Is he alright? What about Tegan? And Nyssa?”

The Commander blinked at him. “I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about, young man.”

“My friends! They were on board the Tardis with a Cyberman!” Adric shook his head. “No. It’s the Doctor. He must be alright. He always finds a way to defeat them.”

“I think you must be feverish,” said the Commander as a thin, mousy-haired older man in a similar uniform walked into the room. “Ah, Penton, there you are.”

“Good to see you out of bed, sir,” Penton smiled at Adric. Adric chuckled, politely. Behind Penton, a young girl, also in a light blue uniform with her hair tied up in a neat bun, was carrying a large medical bag. She smiled, eagerly, at the newcomer. “Hi! I’m glad you’re alright!”

“Tana, get back to work,” snapped the Commander. 

“Thank you, Tana,” said Penton, in a politer tone, taking the bag from her. Tana, meekly, retreated from the room. The Commander rolled his eyes. Adric wondered why he was so harsh towards the girl. She had only said hello to him. 

Penton was now rummaging in his back. “No pain anywhere else, I trust? You didn’t appear to be suffering from anything broken.”

“No, no pain,” Adric replied. 

“Bruising?”

“Possibly a bit.” Adric couldn’t help but smile, thinking how ironic it was after all he had been through on his adventures with the Doctor here he was finally getting treatment for cuts and bruises. 

“Let’s have a look,” said Penton. Adric was in no mood to be poked and prodded but something told him he had no choice, so he allowed Penton to examine him. He looked over at the Commander. “So, I’m on the Starship Persephone now, am I?”

“You are indeed,” said the Commander. “The finest Time Monitor ship in the universe.”

“Time what? Monitor?”

“Yes. You see, it is our job to monitor the development of planets and make sure that nothing tampers with the evolution of their inhabitants.”

Adric understood. It sounded like something the Doctor would do. “And if something does tamper with it?”

“Then it’s our job to put history back on an even keel.”

Adric nodded. “So...the remains of the freighter...you got rid of them?”

“We did; and we rescued you from becoming the first humanoid fossil in human history.”

Adric smiled. “Well, thank you.”

What now, though? He couldn’t help wondering. He had survived what he had assumed at the time to be his “final end” as the Doctor might say. He ought to try and get back to the Tardis. Or...did he dare ask if he could go back to E-space as he had once asked? Or was that merely a passing fancy? After all, there was nothing left there for him anymore. But then, where did he go? How could he get back to the Tardis from here? The Tardis didn’t have a radio connection that he knew of, so he couldn’t even contact the thing from here. Was it best to just keep moving? 

“You’ll be alright.” Penton’s voice brought him back to Earth, or rather back to the Starship Persephone, as it were. “You’re a lucky young man.”

“To be alive, I know,” Adric replied. 

“Well, come, my young friend,” said the Commander, pressing a button on the wall to open the door. “I’ll show you the rest of the ship.”

The ship, of course, wasn’t as large as the interior of the Tardis, but it was as large as an average space craft could be expected to be. Adric followed the Commander through a corridor and into the vast control room. Above them, a staircase led to the top deck. Zavvi, Tarkin Ibson and a cadet named Chava were sitting at the controls. Zavvi looked up and saluted the Commander. “Commander on deck,” she informed the others, who immediately saluted without looking up from their work.

The Commander saluted them back. “At ease,” he commanded and Zavvi stepped up to him. 

“Everything is exactly as it should be, Captain,” she informed him. She smiled at Adric and politely offered her hand. “Hello, good to have you on board. My name’s Zavvi; I’m second in command here aboard the Starship Persephone, so should you need anything and the Commander is detained, you should turn to me.”

“Right,” Adric replied, glancing at her, warily. She looked very straight laced and disciplined; not a button out of place, not even a speck of her make up out of place. He wouldn’t have been surprised if she had had a whip attached to her uniform. 

“What is our next destination, Happin?” asked the Commander, turning to a woman studying a large panel in front of her. The panel was touch-sensitive and moved when she touched it. 

“Planet Kembel, Commander,” she replied, patting her bun, even though she had not a hair out of place. 

“Good, good,” replied the Commander, turning his attention to Tarkin. “Are we clear to launch into light speed?”

“All clear, Commander,” Tarkin replied. 

Happin reeled off the co-ordinates and the three cadets set them on the control panel before the Commander said “Right; fasten seatbelts everyone or else hold on tight. Tarkin.”

Tarkin pushed a lever on the control panel and as everyone either fastened their seatbelts or grabbed hold of something solid, the ship lurched forwards into the stars. Stumbling over his own feet, Adric seized hold of the banister and closed his eyes tightly. His head was spinning and he felt sick. Then, to his surprise, the ship suddenly steadied and slowed itself down. He opened his eyes to see the crew members releasing whatever they had grabbed hold of during the jump to light speed.

“Alright?” smiled the Commander. 

“I think...” Adric rubbed his head, which was still swimming. “I think so.”

“Penton, the pills!”

“Here.” Penton handed Adric two brightly coloured capsules. “They help with the speed sickness.”

The other inhabitants of the Starship Penton were getting back to their work; only a handful of them came to Penton for the pills. Adric was glad of them, for they worked almost immediately. “Tana!” called the Commander. “Tana! Where is that girl now?”

“Yes, Commander?” called Tana, peering over the balcony. She was holding a clipboard in her hand. 

“How are you doing in taking stock?” asked the Commander. 

“Almost finished.”

“We make a note of when we need to restock every time we visit a planet,” the Commander explained to Adric, before looking up at Tana. “Get down here, girl; don’t dawdle.”

Tana made her way downstairs. “Where do you go to resupply?” asked Adric. 

“To a planet called Digongadael, not far from E-space.”

“E-space?”

Before Adric could continue, Tana stumbled at the foot of the stairs and would have fallen if he hadn’t caught her arm to steady her. “Careful!”

Tana steadied herself and smiled at him, gratefully. “Thank you.”

“You alright?”

“I’m fine. I’m always tripping over my own feet.”

“Tana, get back to work,” said the Commander. 

She turned and walked away from them. Again Adric wondered he was so harsh towards her. That evening, after a good meal supplied by Dale the cook, he had his answer. Alone, he decided to explore the top deck. To his surprise, he found he wasn’t alone up there. Tana was leaning against the desk in front of the large window looking out to the stars. She was daydreaming again, but when he came to stand beside her, she looked up at once. “Hello.”

“Hello,” Adric smiled. 

Tana, now finally able to talk to him properly, found her mouth running away with her as usual. “It’s so beautiful, isn’t it, the universe, I mean? I come up here every evening when I’m not working, just to look at it. I love travelling so much.”

“I did too,” Adric confessed, leaning beside her. 

Tana propped her elbows on the table, placed her chin in her hands and looked at him. “You mean you travel in space too?”

“I used to; and time.”

“Did you have your own time machine?”

Adric smiled. “No, it belonged to a friend of mine. The Doctor.” He sighed. “I wish...I wish I could somehow let him know I survived.”

“Can you radio the ship?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Oh.” Tana glanced at him. “You must miss him very much.”

It was only when she said it that Adric realised just how much he did miss the Doctor and the Tardis and Nyssa and Tegan and everything else. He wanted to cry, and so he did. Tana looked over at him, startled, and then she fished in her pocket for a handkerchief. “Oh, I’m sorry. I always say the wrong things. Here.”

Adric took it from her and pulled himself together, feeling foolish. “It’s alright. I just wish we hadn’t had that argument. I wish we could have left things...well...”

“Wish you could have said goodbye properly?” asked Tana, gently. 

“Yes.” Adric, fully recovered, handed back the handkerchief but she shook her head and smiled. 

“You keep it. You need it more than I do.” She looked at him. “Did you have a lot of fun travelling together?”

“We did.” Adric smiled. “Although, sometimes, I’ll admit, I did feel a bit like an outsider.”

Tana laughed. “Join the club!” She leaned on her elbows again. “No one on this ship likes me.”

“I’m sure that’s not true,” began Adric, but she shook her head. 

“No, no, it is. I mean, they tolerate me because they have to but they don’t actually like me. I’m too clumsy for them. Well, you saw how I fell down the stairs earlier. And like I said, I sometimes say the wrong thing by accident and end up hurting people. They’re always paranoid I’ll screw up.” She sighed. “I just wish that one of them would like me, even just for a minute. It’s no fun being alone all the time.”

Adric looked at her and for the first time since he had boarded the ship, he found himself wondering if he might have found some place to belong after all...


	3. Flightplan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the events of Earthshock, the freighter crash lands on Earth, killing the dinosaurs but Adric somehow survives. He quickly finds himself aboard the Starship Persephone; but can he find a place to belong amongst the crew?

Adric didn’t think he’d sleep that night, or if he did, he would sleep fitfully and dream of the horrors of the explosion he had so luckily escaped. His mind was still reeling from the knowledge that he had somehow survived the crash. But somehow, whether it was comfortableness of the bed he was assigned to or the steadiness of the flight, he drifted silently to sleep. 

He was woken by the sound of a crash outside his door. Jumping to his feet, he wondered if the Tardis had crashed into something, perhaps a meteor shower; and then he remembered that he was no longer aboard the Tardis. No, he was on this new ship; the Starship Persephone.

“Oh, no!” groaned a voice beyond the door. 

Adric blinked, not quite properly awake. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes. 

“I said, didn’t I say?” exclaimed a triumphant tone. 

“What’s going on here?” asked a third voice and he recognized it as that of the Commander. 

“I’m sorry,” sighed Tana’s voice. 

“I did say, Commander, what would happen if we let-”

“That will do, Masgar. We all know what happens if we let Tana do anything around here,” said the Commander, in a clipped tone. “Back to your station. Tana, clean this mess up and then back to work.”

“Yes, Commander.”

Adric stumbled over to the door and opened it. Tana was on her knees on the floor, retrieving the metal pitcher she had dropped outside his room. The Commander looked up and smiled. “Ah! Good morning, my young friend! I trust you slept well?”

“Yes, I did,” replied Adric, a little flustered. Tana, blushing, picked up the pitcher. “I’m sorry, Commander,” she stammered to him. “I just...there’s still some left...”

“Don’t be ridiculous, girl!” snapped the Commander. “Go and get some fresh and clean this mess up! No, clean this mess up first and then get some fresh!” He smiled at Adric. “Can’t have our guest slipping over because of you!”

“Yes, Commander.”

Adric glanced down to see some kind of beige thick liquid on the floor, clearly spilled from the pitcher. Tana went down on her knees again and pulled a cloth from her toolbelt to mop it up. “I’m sorry about this, Adric,” said the Commander, apologetically. “A polite gesture on behalf of our culture; to bring a guest a morning drink.”

“Oh, that’s alright,” Adric said, understanding. Poor Tana bushed deeply but said nothing. Adric had learned from her that they were almost all from the planet Invertire; a planet which was known for strange customs. Well, almost all. Apparently there was one who was a Vinvocci, but she complied with their customs and was an honorary Invertirite aboard the Starship Persephone. 

Tana got to her feet and hurried off with the pitcher. “Tell me,” said Adric to the Commander, “why are you so harsh with her?”

“Because, sir, she is the most incompetent cadet I have ever had the misfortune to be the commander of,” replied the Commander. “I have never met a clumsier girl in my life.”

Adric frowned. “But then why put up with her?”

“Because we are all she has. The girl’s an orphan; no family of her own, no one else to take her in. No one else would. In a way, I feel oddly sorry for her.”

Adric could understand now how Tana felt so out of place amongst her fellows. She, like him, had no one and nothing but her work and this ship; and she was, well he had only ever been teased, but the Commander treated her like she was an idiot. She wasn’t. She was just quite clumsy; and who wasn’t? Still, he didn’t argue. 

“Anyway,” said the Commander, “you’ll be pleased to know that after we make our way to Kembel, we will definitely need to stop in Digongadael, should you wish to return to E-space.”

“If I’m honest,” Adric said, “I don’t know whether I do. I mean, I once said I did, but I don’t think I was thinking properly about it. And yet, I don’t know what else to do.”

“Well, why not think it over? We still have to make sure everything is right on Kembel before we move onto E-space. Until then, you are our worthy passenger and guest.”

“Thank you, sir, but perhaps I could help out on the ship or something. I feel a bit useless doing nothing here.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I’m sure we can find something for you to do. Tana!” Adric jumped as the Commander’s voice came very close to deafening him. “Where is that girl?”

“Here, sir,” said Tana meekly as she came up behind him, carrying the pitcher. She held it out to Adric. He took it with a grateful smile, which she returned. Perhaps she was glad that someone wasn’t shouting at her for once. 

“Get back to work,” the Commander commanded at her. 

“Yes Commander,” she said, bowing her head and leaving. 

“Well, young friend, when you’re ready, you may make your way to the flight deck. We’ll get a good view of Kembel as we approach.”

“Thank you,” Adric replied. The drink, he didn’t know what it was, but it was refreshing. He wondered if it was what all Invertireites drank for breakfast. He followed the Commander to the flight deck. Stars surrounded them and he had to admit, it was more impressive than the Tardis in the sense that they could see the entire universe all the time they travelled through it. But then, the Tardis was more impressive because it was bigger on the inside than the outside. This ship was only as big inside as it was outside. Still, he wasn’t complaining. Better to be in a ship in space than to be floating around unprotected through the stars and pass the planets to a slow, uneasy death. 

Ah! There was the Vinvocci woman, standing by the navigator, Happin. He hadn’t met her properly yet. As the Commander walked into the room, he was met with a salute and then the Vinvocci girl started up. 

“Commander, I did say that-”

“At ease, Masgar; and if you keep licking my boots anymore, they will vanish.”

If Vinvocci could blush, then Masgar was; or at least she was turning a deeper shade of green. Or, Adric wondered, was that perhaps some form of envy, or even rage at being ticked off? At any rate, she turned her attention to him. “Hello. My name is Cadet Masgar; and before you say anything, I am not some form of cactus or Varga plant, thank you very much-!”

“Ok, Masgar!” exclaimed Tarkin from his position at the controls. “You don’t need to be so...prickly all the time!”

There was a soft titter around the room. Masgar rolled her eyes. “Is that supposed to be funny, Tarkin?”

“I wouldn’t dream of trying to be funny in your presence,” he sniped. 

“It’s alright,” said Adric, quickly, to quash the argument. “I know you’re a Vinvocci.”

She gave a triumphant smile. “So we have a clever one in our midst once more, do we? I’ve missed that!”

“Masgar!” said Zavvi, in a testy tone. 

“Well, I’m just saying. I mean, after our last mathematician was lost...”

The Commander visibly flinched. “What happened to Rigg was not my fault.”

“No one blames you, Commander,” said Zavvi. She fixed Masgar with a stern look. “We shouldn’t talk of such things.”

Masgar shrugged, modestly. “I merely assumed we were ready to talk about it. No? Well, it has been several months but we may mourn a little longer, I suppose.”

“That will do, Masgar!” snapped the Commander. 

“We are approaching Kembel, Commander,” said Happin, who clearly wanted to avoid any kind of argument. “Should we lock on to the co-ordinates?”

“Do,” he said. 

“Locking on,” said Tarkin, manipulating the controls again. A button flashed on the console to his left and Masgar went to check it. “Radiation levels at zero,” she reported. “Atmosphere breathable.”

Tarkin flicked a switch on the console to his right. “Someone send in Tana for the radio,” he called, throwing a glanced at the Commander. “If you would, sir,” he added, guilty at being the one to give orders.  


“Tana?” repeated Masgar, wrinkling her nose. “Is that wise?”  


“Under normal circumstances, no, but she’s the only other cadet up.”

“Tana!” bellowed the Commander. “Get in here, girl!”

Tana came scurrying in, tripping a little over her own feet as she ran but she slid quickly into her seat without falling and seized the headphones. 

Masgar shook her head. “On our own heads be it.”

“That’s enough, Masgar!” Zavvi commanded again. 

Tana put on the headphones and pushed some controls. “Alright, I have the reading,” she said to Tarkin. 

“And?”

She hesitated, with a frown. “Something’s wrong.”

“What?” The Commander and Zavvi both hurried to lean over her. 

“I can hear a roaring in my ears,” Tana said, removing the headphones. “I’ve heard it before.”

Zavvi snatched the headphones from her and listened for herself. Her face dropped. 

“What?” asked Tarkin. “What is it?”

Zavvi swallowed. “She’s right, Commander. Something is wrong down there.”

“It sounded like-” began Tana, but Zavvi whipped off her headphones and turned to the Commander. “We must land at once and find out what is happening down there!”

The Commander didn’t question her motives. He simply nodded, straightened up and said “Tarkin, make our landing. Zavvi, the equipment. Tana...” He looked like he was about to give her an order, but changed his mind and said instead “Masgar, the guns. We may need them.”

“Right away, Commander,” she saluted. 

Adric went up to Tana. “What’s going on?”

“We’re about to land and find out,” she replied, glancing up at him. “Will you come too?”

“Tana!” snapped the Commander. “What an idea!”

“It’s polite to ask, isn’t it?” she replied, stiffly. 

Adric looked at the Commander. “Begging your pardon, sir, but I would like to go, if it’s alright. I’ve been in similar situations to this before and come through alright.” Thanks to the Doctor, he added privately in his mind. 

“Well...” The Commander looked at Zavvi. “Do we have spare equipment for one more?”

“Aye, Commander. Will you be joining us?”

“Not I, but our young guest here.”

“Oh.” Zavvi looked at Adric. “Stick close to Tarkin and Masgar, then.”

Tana looked at her feet, feeling the implication of Zavvi’s words. Adric nodded. “I will.”

Zavvi left to get more equipment. The Commander strolled about over to Happin. Tarkin leaned back in his seat with a sigh of satisfaction as they approached the planet’s surface.

“Will you go back to E-space?” asked Tana, quietly of Adric.

He frowned. “How did-?”

“I wasn’t eavesdropping. Not intentionally, anyway. I just happened to hear the Commander talking to you when I brought back your dwrmwd.”

So that was what they called that morning drink, then. “I might,” he said, honestly. “I don’t know yet.”

“What’s it like there?” she asked. “I mean, living there?”

He shrugged. “Like living anywhere, I suppose. Like living on Invertire, I suppose.”

“Oh, no! It couldn’t be anything like living on Invertire! All our rules and customs, surely not!”

“No.” Adric smiled at her. “Perhaps not.”

She returned his smile as Tarkin announced. “Planet Kembel, here we come!”


	4. Kembel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the events of Earthshock, the freighter crash lands on Earth, killing the dinosaurs but Adric somehow survives. He quickly finds himself aboard the Starship Persephone; but can he find a place to belong amongst the crew?

The Starship Persephone touched down with a gentle roaring sound, not unlike the usual grinding of gears that Tardis made when it landed. Smoke billowed around from its engines, in tiny mushroom clouds. Adric found himself handed a large rucksack by Zavvi. “The equipment we need,” she told him. “All in there. Tana, stop gawping and on your feet, girl!”

Tana got to her feet and picked up her own rucksack. Masgar, warily, handed her a gun which she clipped to her belt. Adric followed suit when Masgar handed him one with a confident smile. She trusted him with one more than Tana, then.

Tarkin was looking at the scanner. “Commander, there are life forms on the planet, but none native to Kembel. In fact, I think some of them might be...robots.”

Robots? Adric frowned. The Cybermen again? Or something else?

“Robots?” repeated the Commander. “On Kembel?”

“I think I know-!” began Tana, but she was ignored as Zavvi put in. “I don’t remember the books saying anything about robots on Kembel at this stage of its development, Commander.”

“Are you sure it isn’t a fault in the scanner?” the Commander asked of Tarkin. 

“No, sir, it’s in perfect working order,” replied Tarkin. 

“It’ll be because-!” Tana piped up. 

“Shut up, Tana!” snapped Masgar. “Don’t talk about what you don’t know!”

“But I do know-!”

“That will do, Tana!” said the Commander. 

Tana sighed and looked at her feet. “Very well,” she muttered. 

“Could that be what made those roaring noises?” asked Happin from the navigation panel. 

Zavvi shook her head. “No. Those were the roars made by Varga plants.”

Adric remembered the Doctor mentioning them once before. “I thought Varga plants were native to Skaro?”

“They are,” said the Commander. “Why should they be here?”

Tana tried one last time to make her opinions known. “Because-!”

“I don’t know, Commander,” said Zavvi, “but we won’t find out standing here.”

“Masgar, fetch the anti-Varga suits,” said the Commander. “And don’t forget the helmets.”

“Of course not, Commander,” she said, leaving the flight deck. 

Tana got to her feet and shuffled over to the door, waiting to be told she could open it and venture out onto the surface of the planet. Adric wandered after her. She clearly seemed to know what was going on but no one would listen. If that was the case, maybe he ought to. “What is it?” he asked her, quietly. “What are those things?”

“Forget it,” she said, folding her arms and looking meaningfully over towards the Commander. “I’m probably wrong. My opinion doesn’t matter.”

“But you know what they are, or suspect you do,” said Adric, choosing his words carefully. “It might be useful to know what exactly we’re up against.”

Her eyes flickered to him. “Would you believe me?” She nodded again at her companions. “They wouldn’t.”

“I’ll listen, at least,” Adric said, truthfully. 

“Well, I read in the history books of Kembel that the planet gets bombarded by intruders right before it’s due to develop. Zavvi’s got it confused with planet Kamble there. That one was never hit by Vargas or Daleks.”

“Daleks?” Adric repeated. The Doctor had mentioned those too; frequently, in fact. He called them “the most evil and deadly creatures ever invented.” 

“That’s what the scanner’s picking up. But they’re not robots; they’re-”

“I know,” Adric interrupted. “I know what they are; mutilated creatures in armour that can kill in a second.”

“You believe me?”

Adric smile. “A friend of mine has met the Daleks a lot; I know they exist.”

Tana smiled, gratefully as Masgar handed her a padded suit. “Then maybe you can tell the Commander! He’ll listen to you!”

“Tell the Commander what?” asked Masgar in a tired tone. “And don’t rip that thing again, Tana!”

“Tell the Commander about-!”

“Right, everyone put your suits and helmets on and we’ll go outside!” commanded Zavvi. 

The cadets and Adric alike did as she said. The suits were thick, Adric realised, and uncomfortable to move in, but he could see how they would be a good deterrent against the Varga plant spikes. The helmets felt very much like putting fishbowls on, but again, they were thick enough so that the Varga spines couldn’t penetrate their skin through it. Once they were all suited up, Zavvi opened the door and they followed her out onto the surface of the planet. 

Kembel was a lush green jungle of a planet. Primitive, it was, just as Earth had been in the early stages of its life, but Adric knew his history and one day the trees and plants and animals here would all be gone. The place would be grey, barren and lifeless in the years to come. It was a sad thought, really. He suddenly realised that it must be because of the Daleks’ involvement here that the planet would end up that way. According to the Doctor, the Daleks always left a devastating trail of death and destruction in their path. 

Adric, for his part, had never had any encounter with the Daleks, but the Doctor had told him enough about them. He knew that they were dome-shaped with wide angle mechanical lenses instead of eyes and egg beater weaponry and sucker sticks that acted as hands and that they grated when they talked and shouted “Exterminate!” right before they were about to make a kill. He knew that they lived to kill and hated anyone different to them. He knew that their one true goal was to conquer the universe; and their other was to exterminate the Doctor once and for all. Each time they had attempted it, the Doctor had defeated them, but that only served to make them more determined to get rid of him. Adric knew how dangerous they were and he could only guess what they were doing on the planet. 

“Zavvi,” said Masgar, like a school prefect brown-nosing a teacher and dropping another student in it, “Tana here thinks she knows what those robots are.”

Zavvi glanced at Tana. “You, Tana?”

Tana looked at her feet. “The Daleks,” she said. “It’s the Daleks.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, girl! The Daleks never landed on Kembel!”

“But they did! You’re thinking of-!”

“Are you trying to tell me how to do my job, Tana? Do you forget your place?”

“No, Zavvi, but you’re wrong about this!”

Adric stepped in to help her. Thinking quickly, he said “I can vouch for her. A friend of mine told me the same thing.”

Zavvi frowned. “I’m quite sure-”

A loud blasting sound, like something being shot, and a terrifying roar of the Varga plants echoed throughout the jungle. 

“There’s your answer,” said Adric, quickly. 

“That was definitely a Dalek gunshot,” confirmed Tarkin. “I’ve picked it up before on transmissions. I know one when I hear it.”

“Sounds like they’re killing off the Vargas,” said Masgar, and it did. “But why? I would have thought they’d use them to defeat their enemies, given what a Varga spike can do to a person.”

“They did use them,” piped up Tana, “but when their Time Destructor was activated, neither creature could do anything but age to death. Well, I don’t think the Daleks did because of their amour, but they’re probably killing them off because they failed or something...”

Another noise now, a familiar one to Adric reached their ears. He stood where he was, listening. Was he imagining it? Or was it real? No, it was real! It had to be!

“What is that?” asked Masgar, looking around. So, she could hear it too? They all could!

The Tardis!

But was it taking off or landing?

There was only one way to be sure. 

“Doctor!” he cried, rushing towards the sound. 

“Adric, come back!” commanded Zavvi, stepping forwards but Adric rushed past her. Tana ran after him, and the others ran after her. Adric broke through the undergrowth in time to see something blue and box-like disappear out of sight. He stopped in disbelief. Too late. It had gone. He took a deep breath. Well, was all he could think, looks like they’re alright then. But, depending on the timeline, was it even the Doctor he remembered in the Tardis? Were Tegan and Nyssa still with him? He knew the Doctor regenerated and because of his travels in time, this might be a Doctor who didn’t know him yet. Yet, it allowed him to hope a little. Maybe he would see the Doctor he knew again one day. 

Tana stopped beside him. “What was that?” she asked. “Was that your ship?”

Adric nodded, slowly, not bothering to correct her about the ownership of the Tardis. 

“I’m sorry,” said Tana, softly. 

He glanced at her. “It’s alright. I mean, it’s not, but...”

She nodded. “I know.”

The blasting sounds were getting nearer now. Adric knew that once you were hit by a Dalek, you were dead. It wasn’t like being shot with a bullet on Earth, or anywhere else for that matter. He swallowed hard. “We should go. The Doctor told me how dangerous the Daleks are.”

“Exterminate!”

Tana nodded. “I think you’re right. Come on.”

Zavvi and the others had reached them by now and Adric turned to them. “Sorry. I thought I knew what the sound was. I was mistaken.”

Zavvi sighed. “Since you’re not one of our crew, I can’t tick you off. It’s not within our customs.”

“Exterminate!”

“They’re getting closer, Zavvi,” said Tarkin, who was calculating something on a small, handheld computer. “There’s nothing more we can do for this planet.” He looked up at Tana. “You were right.” He sounded amazed as he said it. “The Daleks are the reason this planet started developing the way it does. We need to leave. Now!”

Zavvi jumped to attention. “Back to the ship! Everyone! Now!”

Could they outrun the Daleks? Adric hoped so. He could hear them, they all could, their battle cries as they ran ringing over the jungle terrain. 

“Exterminate!”

“Exterminate!”

“Exterminate!”


	5. Memories and Decisions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the events of Earthshock, the freighter crash lands on Earth, killing the dinosaurs but Adric somehow survives. He quickly finds himself aboard the Starship Persephone; but can he find a place to belong amongst the crew?

Adric felt his breath catch his throat as the starship’s doors cranked closed in time and the Commander exclaimed “To your seats and let’s get this ship moving!” That had been close; too close. 

Tana tripped over her own feet and almost collided into her chair in her haste. Masgar groaned. “We’re never going to get out of here in time with Tana in our crew, Commander!”

“Masgar!” snapped Tarkin. 

“That’s enough!” commanded the Commander, as the ship began to rise into the air. Below them, the forests rustled and then Adric caught his first glimpse of a Dalek. It was just as the Doctor had described and yet somehow still more terrifying. It let out a few blasts at the ship, but they were too far out of range to sustain damage. He breathed out, feeling cool relief wash over him. 

Zavvi collapsed into a vacant chair. “Well...” she said, and then “Well...”

“It looks like we got away in time after all,” commented Adric, with a glance at Masgar. 

Masgar blushed dark green. “Well, we were lucky, I suppose,” she muttered. Then, feeling the eyes of everyone in the crew upon her, she sighed in defeat. “Alright, alright!” She took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Tana; I didn’t mean it. Everyone happy? Good, we’ll carry on, shall we?”

“Sometimes your comments hurt people,” said Tarkin, without looking up from his scanner. 

Tana, however, didn’t seem fazed by Masgar’s words at all; she merely picked up her headphones and got back to work. Adric had to admire her stout resoluteness; but then maybe she had simply accepted that her co-workers “didn’t like her” as she put it. Maybe she felt it was better to simply get on and do things on this ship than strike up any kind of argument. After all, one thing that Adric had learned through his travels with the Doctor and pals was that teamwork couldn’t be managed when certain people in the team refused to co-operate with one another. In a way, he felt that the crew of the Starship Persephone were like some kind of dysfunctional family, with Tana playing the role of the youngest sibling who is always belittled and basically trodden on by the other family members. Adric sympathised with her there. 

The Commander breathed out, loudly, a satisfactory sigh as he eyed the numerous stars in the galaxy once more. “Right, now we’re out of the woods there, so to speak. But how long until the planet begins to develop? We ought to wipe those creatures out by right.”

“It’s alright, Commander,” said Zavvi. “I read in the history books that bombarded by intruders right before it’s due to develop. Forgive my not mentioning it before, sir, I had forgotten that these were the intruders it named.”

Tana stared at her, open-mouthed in shock. “But I-!”

“I’d say we’re lucky to be alive,” said Tarkin, who didn’t seem to have noticed that Tana was trying to say something. Zavvi looked, not smug, thought Adric, but calmly satisfied that she seemed to have got away with her lie; taking credit for what Tana had known and what she had mistaken for something else entirely. “I hear that once you’re hit by a Dalek, that’s it. You’re dead!”

“Those were the Daleks?” said the Commander, glancing around at someone for confirmation. Adric nodded for him. Tana did too, but he took no notice of her. “I didn’t think they were active in this part of the galaxy.”

“Daleks are active anywhere they like,” said Tarkin, busy at his work. “From all I’ve read about them, anyway.”

Tana took off her headphones, got to her feet and all but ran from the room. Everyone turned their heads to watch her, automatically, but no one went after her. “Must have been something you said, Tarkin,” teased Happin from her controls. 

Adric took a deep breath. “I think,” he said, and he didn’t want to upset the balance of harmony within the ship here, but he felt like he had no choice. If he didn’t speak up for Tana, who would? She would just get continually trodden on for the rest of her life. “It was something that Zavvi said, actually, Commander.”

Zavvi frowned up at him. “What I said? What are you talking about?”

“Tana told me about the Daleks on Kembel; said you had it confused with another planet.” He tried his best not to sound smug as he said it; after all, he wasn’t trying to land Zavvi in trouble here, just voice the truth on Tana’s behalf. “After all, you did tell her that it was a ridiculous notion when we were there, didn’t you?”

Zavvi flushed. “I-I may have said that...” she stammered. 

“Look, it doesn’t matter who said what where or when,” said the Commander, clearly sensing some kind of argument about to erupt here. “We’re off Kembel now; our next stop is Digongadael. Takin, make the jump to lightspeed.”

“Aye, aye, Commander,” said Tarkin, readying himself at the controls. “Fasten your seatbelts everyone or else hold on tight!”

Adric quickly leapt into Tana’s vacant chair and fasten the seatbelt; and not a moment too soon as with a rushing lurch, the stars came shooting towards them and they jumped into lightspeed motion. A second later, a loud crash and a squeal from Tana told Adric that she hadn’t been holding onto anything.

The Commander whipped his head around in the direction she had gone. “Tana, what are you playing at now?” he half-snapped, half-snarled. 

“I’m not playing at anything, Commander!” she snapped back. 

As the ship suddenly slowed and steadied, everyone in the control room, apart from Adric, gasped in unison. All eyes swiveled to the Commander. Back in the canteen where she had been when the Starship Persephone had jumped into lightspeed, Tana clapped both hands over her mouth. It was against the customs of the Invertireites to answer their commanding officer or leader back. She had been so frustrated she had spoken aloud without thinking. Hanging her head in shame, she clambered clumsily to her feet and walked back into the main control room. “I’m sorry, Commander,” she apologized, profoundly. “So sorry. I was unthinking, careless, idiotic, willful, out of line and bold, too bold. I offer my sincerest apologies. I meant no disrespect, sir.”

The Commander raised an eyebrow. “At ease, Tana. All is well.”

That, if Adric could remember correctly, was an Invertierite custom; to make a long apology after doing something that was considered out of line, as well as describe their actions in as many ways as they could think of, to show how sincerely sorry they were. He didn’t know all their customs, just a few.

“Maybe if you’d been here instead of out there, you wouldn’t have had the need to answer the Commander back,” said Masgar, stiffly. 

Adric felt guilty then for having leapt into Tana’s chair and her quickly got to his feet. The sickness washed over him and he rubbed his head. “Penton, the pills!” called the Commander. 

Penton came into the room with the coloured capsules which he offered around the room. Everyone took some and immediately felt the better for having done so. Simply to break the awkward tension filling the room, Adric asked “How long will it take us to get to Digongadael?”

“Only two days,” replied Happin, cheerfully. “We can relax for a while, as long as out supplies don’t run out.”

“We should have enough for a week at least,” reported Tana. “If my calculations are correct.”

Calculations. How Adric suddenly missed maths. He hoped he might be able to do some before he...before he what? He still hadn’t made up his mind about whether or not to return to E-space. 

“Tana, get back to work,” said the Commander, although he didn’t say it in the harsh way he had been saying it recently; perhaps to show Tana that she was truly forgiven. 

Tana went back to her workstation. Perhaps it was guilt at Tana having been in trouble only a matter of minutes after Zavvi had taken credit from her, Adric never found out, but Zavvi said then “Tana, I’m sorry. So sorry. I was vicious, smug, thoughtless and a thief. I stole the credit you deserved from you. . I offer my sincerest apologies. I meant no offence or harm.”

Tana looked surprised but simply nodded. “It’s alright, Zavvi,” she said, in a slow tone of wonder at Zavvi’s sudden change of heart. She went back to her work as the Commander gave her a reproving glance. Adric smiled. Tana might be clumsy, but she also struck him as being somewhat vulnerable. Maybe her fellow crew members could learn to like her a little more if looked at her and not her clumsy nature. 

The rest of the day was rather slow, Adric found. He managed to entertain himself by exploring the ship for himself, with the Commander’s permission, of course. Something about the Starship Persephone felt familiar to him; it reminded him of the Tardis in places. He missed it. He missed that big old blue box that was bigger on the inside than the outside. He missed that great control room with all its dials and levers. He missed all the back rooms it led into. He missed the room he himself had occupied. Who occupies it now, he couldn’t help but wonder, does anyone? That got him wondering what his plan would have been if he had left the Tardis earlier than he did. Would he have returned to E-space? Would he have taken up travelling with someone else, like on this starship? Or would he have stayed somewhere else; another planet; another time? 

He began to think properly about his options that night as he attempted to sleep. On the one hand, E-space was his home, by rights, and he had always assumed that he would return there. On the other hand, there was nothing left there for him, as he had once told the Doctor. 

If he were to stay on the Starship Persephone, what would he do? Would he be allowed to stay? Would he be assigned some kind of job? Masgar had mentioned that their last mathematician had been lost; could he possibly fill that void, workwise? 

It was no good. He couldn’t sleep. He was too restless. Stumbling out of bed, he wrapped one of the blankets around him like a cloak and began to pace the room. Then, he wondered, why should he be confined to his room? He wasn’t a prisoner here, after all. The Commander had given him leave to go where he liked aboard the ship, after all. He opened the door and stepped out into the corridor, intent on making his way to the control room. 

Zavvi was there, with Penton standing by on duty, but neither of them noticed his presence. He made his way quietly up the stairs to the top deck. To his surprise, someone else was up there too. 

Tana turned her head at his approach. She was also wrapped in a blanket; it seemed she had had trouble sleeping too. “Hi,” she said, in surprise. 

“Hello,” said Adric, equally as surprised to see her. Maybe she had come up her with the same purpose as him; to be alone with her thoughts. “If you want to be alone, I can go,” he began, jerking a thumb over his shoulder. 

“Oh, no, it’s alright,” she insisted. “You don’t have to go.”

Adric shuffled over to the chair beside her and sat down. “I’m guessing you can’t sleep either?”

She shook her head. “Bad dream.”

“Oh.” Adric hesitated. “Do you...would talking about it help?”

“I’d rather not.” Tana wriggled her shoulders and looked up at him. “Sorry. I just won’t want to remember what it was about.”

“Right.” Adric understood. They sat in silence for a while. Presently, Tana said “Have you fought the Daleks before, then? You seem to know a lot about them?”

Adric smiled. “No, as I said, my friend the Doctor told me about them. He’s had quite a few encounters with them before now.”

“He’s a Doctor?”

“Of sorts.”

“What’s he like?”

Adric hesitated. What was the Doctor like? What sort of man was he? How could one describe him; put him into words? He was a complex man, with many layers. He was, well, he was the Doctor. “He’s...well, he’s not the easiest of men to understand when you first meet him. There’s a lot more to him than you first think. But he’s kind, underneath all that grumpiness,” he chuckled at his memories of the Doctor’s moods, “and he’s clever; a bit stubborn, maybe, but caring. And he’s beaten the Daleks and other hostile creatures and saved the universe constantly. It’s what he lives for, I think, to protect people.”

Tana smiled. “He sounds fascinating.”

Adric returned her smile. “We did argue sometimes. I remember once when I threatened to leave the Tardis, to go back to E-space. Well, the Doctor was adamant that it couldn’t be done. I was adamant that it could. We were both as stubborn as each other in the end, really.”

“And could it be done?”

“Yes. I proved the Doctor wrong that day.” He chuckled again. “Not many people get to do that, you know.”

Tana hesitated before she spoke again. “Listen, thanks.”

Adric looked at her. “For what?”

“For whatever you said to Zavvi to make her apologise to me. I just get the feeling you had something to do with it. Thanks for that.”

Adric shrugged modestly. “Well, someone had to tell them the truth; that you knew and Zavvi had been confused.” Tana wrapped herself tighter in her blanket, like a cocoon. “But you’re welcome,” Adric added. 

Tana looked up at the stars. “I used to dream about seeing the stars and travelling to other planets when I was younger. I love it. I just wish they’d stop treating me like I’m some kind of idiot just because I’m clumsy.”

Adric glanced at her. “The Commander was saying you haven’t any family...back on Invertire?”

She nodded, slowly. “That’s true. They were killed in a nuclear fallout when I was seven.”

“Seven?” Adric repeated. “You were that young?”

She nodded again. “The Commander found me and took me on as a trainee cadet. I’ve been here ever since.”

“Do you ever wonder about getting away?” asked Adric, thoughtfully. “Maybe leaving for some other planet or star system?”

“Why would I?”

“Well,” Adric said, slowly, “if they treat you, as you say, like an idiot.”

Tana looked at him. “They might not care much about me, but I sort of care about them. Besides, where else can I go? I’ve lived here for twelve years now, moving from place to place. I love travelling. I can’t leave. This is home.”

They both stared at the stars in silence, and as her words sank in, and as she quietly drifted off to sleep in her chair, Adric made his decision. To run or to stay; he knew which he would choose now.


	6. D84

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the events of Earthshock, the freighter crash lands on Earth, killing the dinosaurs but Adric somehow survives. He quickly finds himself aboard the Starship Persephone; but can he find a place to belong amongst the crew?

E-space was not the easiest part of the universe to navigate through; which had been one of the reasons the Doctor had been so reluctant to go back in the first place. The other, more private and personal, reason was simply that he hadn’t felt ready to let Adric go. The boy, although he would never have admitted so to him, had been something like a younger brother to him; and given the amount of companions he had already let go, the Doctor knew that the pain that came with releasing any of them from the position of travelling companion would never get any easier. 

Adric, of course, had no way of knowing that that had been the Doctor’s second reason for not wishing to return to E-space since the Doctor had never divulged that particular piece of information to him. At any rate, he no longer wished to return to E-space, well, not permanently by any stretch of the imagination. But the Starship needed to restock and so it seemed inevitable that he would return. 

“Are you excited?” Tana asked him. 

It was the following morning and she was once again at the radio, tracking frequencies. It seemed to Adric that, although clumsy, she was pretty efficient at her work. He put it down to the amount of time she had been doing it; she had been seven when she started, but how old was she now? She couldn’t be that much older than he was.

“Excited about what?” he asked, leaning over her shoulder to take a closer look at the patterns caused by radio frequency on her scanner. 

“Well, you’re going home, aren’t you?” she asked, looking up at him. There was a fresh eagerness to her face caused by the knowledge they were off to yet another planet, even if it was one they had been too a great many times before. 

He smiled, wryly. “Do you get excited when you return to Invertire?”

“No,” she admitted, “but then there’s nothing left there for me now.”

“Well, then.”

“But you must be glad to get off this ship? Aren’t you tired of doing nothing?”

Adric knew what she meant but even so, the way she said it made it sound like an accusation of laziness against him. “Thanks,” he laughed, sarcastically. 

“Oh, no, I didn’t mean it like that!” Tana blushed. “See? I said the wrong thing again.”

“It’s alright,” Adric told her. “I know what you meant. And yes, I am getting a little fed up with just being a passenger.”

“My apologies,” said the Commander, who was standing right behind them. Adric and Tana both jumped and looked around at him. “If I’d known you were seeking some form of occupation to keep yourself busy, Adric, I would have provided it.”

It was Adric’s turn to look embarrassed. “I’m sorry, Commander; I didn’t mean that I don’t appreciate your hospitality, because I do. Appreciate it.”

The Commander smiled, good-naturedly. “It’s alright. I naturally assumed you wanted to return home, but if you would like to stay a permanent part of our crew...”

“You mean he can replace Rigg?” piped up Tana, eagerly. 

“Tana, get back to work,” commanded the Commander. She sighed but did as she was told. “Although, yes,” he added, turning back to Adric, “that is what I was about to say. I notice you have quite a flair for maths and as we are still without a mathematician, we do have a vacancy open.”

Adric smiled. “Is it alright if I think it over?”

“By all means,” the Commander nodded, and then he turned to Happin. “How many leagues underway are we, Happin?”

“About seventy, so far, Commander,” she reported. 

Automatically, Adric thought: seventy, so we have two thousand, nine hundred and eighty four left to go. His mathematical brain was at it again. 

“How long now?” asked the Commander of Happin. “Give it to me in figures.”

“Well-” she began. 

“2984,” Adric said, automatically. 

Everyone turned to look at him in surprise. Happin fiddled with her navigation system and then nodded. “He’s right, Commander.”

The Commander beamed at Adric. “Well done, lad.”

Adric smiled. “Nonsense, it’s easy when you know how.”

Masgar came into the room. “Pleasant sleep?” Tarkin asked her, cheekily. 

She pretended to swat him. “Ready for duty relief, Commander.”

“Right.” The Commander turned to Tana, who removed her headphones. “You’re excused, Tana; take your break.”

“Aye, Commander,” she sighed, clearly annoyed at having to give up her post. Nevertheless, she got to her feet, brushed herself down and moved to give up her seat. Masgar, smiling smugly, slid into the vacant seat. Adric moved away from her. There was something about Masgar, and it was quite possibly her whole attitude towards Tana, that he didn’t like. What was it the Commander called her; a bootlicker, that was it. 

Tana walked out of the room, casually placing both hands in her pockets as she went. She took one look over her shoulder as she left the room and then hurried away. Out of idle curiosity, Adric followed her. She hurried quickly down the corridor and then through a door marked “Supplies.” Bewildered, Adric followed her inside. 

The room was tiny, barely more than a cupboard and she naturally noticed his presence. “Sh!” she hissed before he could start asking questions. “Keep your voice down!”

“What are you doing?” Adric whispered.

She pulled the door shut behind them and then tapped the numbers 8482642 into the small computer lock on the back wall of the room. “I want to show you something.”

The back wall lifted, revealing a larger room behind it. “This used to be a storage room,” Tana explained, slipping through the opening, “but no one uses it any more. No one ever comes in here; apart from Penton and me.”

“Why is that?” asked Adric, following her. 

Tana closed the secret door and then indicated something on the table covered with a large sheet. “This is all that’s stored in here now.” She looked at him. “If I show you, will you promise not to tell the Commander about it? Please?”

“What is it?” asked Adric, eyeing whatever it was, warily. “It’s not a dissected body, is it?”

“No, nothing like that.”

“Is it anything illegal?”

Tana looked at her feet. “In the eyes of the Commander, it might be, but it isn’t actually against the law, as far as I know of.”

Adric smiled. “Then I promise.”

Eagerly, Tana ran up to the table and whipped back the sheet. Adric went up to it, surprised. It was a robot, or the majority of one, at any rate. It was dark shiny green in colour and looked just like a metal man. Its lips and the outlines of its eyes were silver, as were its hands and the soles of its feet. A number across its chest read D84. It lay unmoving, staring up with dark, blank eyes. The cracked lines across its face and other parts of its body indicated that it had suffered a great mishap and been put back together again. 

“Where did you get it?” asked Adric, awestruck. 

“Two months ago we landed on a desert planet some miles away from here. There was a sand miner nearby, so we, Penton and I, assumed it must have come from there; been thrown away like a piece of rubbish.”

“And you, what, salvaged it?”

“Every piece, and we put it back together again.”

Adric breathed out. “It’s fascinating.”

Tana smiled. “I knew you’d understand. The Commander doesn’t like them. I don’t know why. He doesn’t trust them for some reason. If he knew that Penton and I were keeping one in here, he’d have some kind of fit.”

“May I?” Adric asked, hesitantly reaching out to touch the thing. 

She nodded. Adric examined the robot. “What do you suppose happened to it?”

Tana shrugged. “It looked like it had been blasted apart by something.”

“Well, Penton must have a great scientific brain.” Like the Doctor, he added in his head. “To be able to put all this back together again.”

Tana blushed. “Actually, he just helped me assemble it and welded the outside back together.”

“So, who fixed him internally?” asked Adric, turning to face her. Her blush deepened and he realised. “You did?”

“I’m not as incompetent with electronics as they think,” she said, reaching out to pat D84 on the head. “It took a long time, but eventually...”

“Eventually?” Adric prompted her. 

Tana smiled and touched a button on D84’s wrist. “Watch this.”

She pressed the button. Immediately, to Adric’s surprise, the robot sat up. He backed off a little way. The robot turned its head. It moved in a gentle, almost childlike fashion. 

“Hello, Tana,” said D84. “Where is Penton?”

“He’s busy working; he’ll be in later,” Tana replied, turning to Adric with a smile. 

“That’s...” Adric couldn’t quite find the words. D84 looked over at him, turning its head, curiously. 

“Who is this?” it asked, blandly, in the way robots always ask question. 

“This is Adric, he’s our guest.”

The robot extended a hand towards Adric. “I am very pleased to meet you, Adric.”

Hesitantly, for fear of damaging him further, Adric gave the extended hand a gentle shake. “And I you, D84.” He looked at Tana. “You gave him the power of speech?”

She shrugged, modestly. “Somehow, yes. I was just fiddling around with his circuits one day and he just spoke to me. Didn’t you?” she added to D84. 

“I did,” said D84,mildly. 

“Well, that is amazing,” Adric said, looking D84 up and down. 

“But it’s just between us,” Tana said, turning her attention back to D84. “I think we’d better shut you down now until your circuits are fully charged, D84, alright?”

“Alright,” agreed D84 and he lay back down before Tana switched him off. She looked up at Adric. “Once he’s fully charged and welded together again, he should be good as new. He may be able to tell us what happened to him.”

“What then?” asked Adric. “Do you plan to keep in here forever?”

“I don’t know,” Tana admitted. “I wish he could be part of our crew, but there’s no changing the Commander’s mind once it’s set on something.”

That, Adric realised, didn’t surprise him in the least.


	7. Digongadael

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the events of Earthshock, the freighter crash lands on Earth, killing the dinosaurs but Adric somehow survives. He quickly finds himself aboard the Starship Persephone; but can he find a place to belong amongst the crew?

That night, Adric found himself wondering about the Commander. He had struck him, from the very beginning, as a lover of discipline and order. Though fair and somewhat kind, since he always treated his fellow crew members with the utmost respect and fairness, he still nevertheless seemed rather strict when it came to upholding their customs and rules.

The one person, it was no secret, he didn’t show the same level of respect and fairness to was, of course, Tana. Adric could understand why there were some things he might not trust her with, any delicate little jobs around the ship, due to her habit of tripping over her own feet or dropping things or accidently pressing the wrong button in her haste. After all, if the ship became damaged due to her clumsiness, well, the outlook would not be good for any of them. What he couldn’t understand was why the Commander insisted on treating her not only as if she were an idiot, but also as if she were a disappointment. To his mind, Tana must have a very good brain to be able to wire up D84 like she had done, even if she had only done part of it by accidental fiddling. What would the Doctor have called it; meddling, that was it! 

He had had a private talk with Penton before bed; in which Penton had revealed the Commander’s distrust of robots. “The thing is, Adric,” he had said, fiddling with a small bottle of the colourful speed sickness pills, “when the Commander was a boy, however many years ago that was,” here Adric had laughed and Penton had smiled before continuing, “his father took his aboard a ship. I remember which one it was, the S.S. Lusitania. The entire crew consisted of robots, apart from the captain, the cook and a single solitary cadet named Taren Kappel. Yes, I’m sure you heard the legends of the young man brought up by robots; he saw them as his brothers and felt they needed freedom and release from their bonds of robot slavery. Whilst the young Commander was aboard the ship, Kappel reprogrammed the robots and they took over the ship. They killed the cook and the captain and seriously wounded the Commander’s father. He died a week later from his injuries. Somehow the Commander and he got out alive and Kappel escaped; the Lusitania crashed into the planet Neptune and the robots aboard were destroyed. The incident really shook up the Commander and after his father’s death he declared that all artificial intelligence was untrustworthy and that if anyone ever brought a robot aboard his ship, when he eventually owned one, well, they would suffer a far worse fate than if they had broken any of our customs.”

“Tell me,” said Adric, leaning against Penton’s medical table, “what exactly happens if you do break one of your customs? Do you just apologise like Tana did when she answered the Commander back that time?”

“Well, actually, the rules are different for whichever custom gets broken,” Penton replied. “Some of the...enforcements, and by that I mean,” he swallowed, “punishments, can be quite severe. And the Commander rarely shows mercy when enforcing them.”

It was Adric’s turn to swallow hard. “Why? What does he do?”

“Oh, you needn’t worry, Adric. You’re not an Invertire.” Penton smiled, reassuringly. “The Commander’s not likely to lose his temper with you. Like Masgar. You’re safe from punishment.”

“Have you ever broken any customs?” asked Adric.

“A few times, back on Invertire, but I was never caught for it. I did once accidently break our custom of not being shod in public since coming aboard this ship. I ran out of the shower barefoot when we landed on Planet Mira. It was an accident but that didn’t matter.”

“What happened to you?”

“I had to walk around with two large sacks of heavy stones tied to my ankles for three days. I wasn’t allowed to remove them, only when I went to bed.”

Adric shuddered. “That’s cruel.”

Penton shrugged. “It’s the law of Invertire. That was three years ago and I don’t care to break any more customs, well,” he winked at Adric, “not that I’ll get caught for, anyway.”

Adric grinned. “Well, your secret about D84’s safe with me.”

“Good. If Masgar ever found out, well, you’ve seen the way she is with the Commander; always pussyfooting after him and licking his boots for him. It’s a well known fact that she twists stories and exaggerates too, just to make herself look good. If she somehow found out, well, she could make the situation sound even worse than it is. And I know for a fact that the Commander would do worse than just kicking us off the ship.”

Adric had later learned from Tana a few of their other customs. He knew now that Invertire women were not allowed to have their hair loose in public; or if they did have it loose, they had to keep it covered. Otherwise, if it was uncovered, it had to be tied up; which was why all of them, except, of course, Masgar, who had no hair, just spikes, kept theirs tied up in neat buns. If they were caught with their hair loose and uncovered in public, it would be cut off in shame. Another thing he had learned was that during the winter months they were not allowed to include beans in their diet, but in the summer months everything they ate must contain beans. She didn’t know why. “I think it’s an ancient religious custom to please the gods or pray for good harvest or something like that,” she had told him. “Spring and autumn, we can eat beans or not; it’s only in summer and winter there are rules about them.” Finally, he had learned that another of their “ancient religious customs” as Tana had coined them, was to spend one hour after midday in a state of silent meditation where their bodies must be completely relaxed and still. They managed to maintain this custom aboard the ship by having it scheduled for them, so then, at least one person could be steering the ship at all times. 

“What happens if they break either of those customs?” Adric asked. 

Tana said she didn’t know. “From the way the Commander goes on, though, I doubt it can be good,” she added. 

Sometimes Adric wondered if it was nerves that made Tana so clumsy; in her eagerness to get things right for the Commander and her fear of showing herself up or getting in trouble if she didn’t get them right. “I did ask Penton once if there was any kind of cure for clumsiness,” she smiled, “but he said no; not that he knew of, anyway.”

Adric found himself woken by a swift knocking on his door. He half expected it to be Tana or the Commander, or even Penton, but to his surprise, it was Masgar who had brought him his morning drink. 

“We’ve arrived!” she announced, brightly, before scuffling off to the deck. Adric followed her. She was right. Starship Persephone had touched down on an orange landscape, against which was a vast metal city. Adric smiled, wryly. They were definitely back in E-space. 

“Right,” said the Commander, handing each crew member a wristband with a metal device on that reminded Adric of the controls on D84. “You all know what you’re getting, don’t you?”

“Food,” said Masgar. 

“Water,” said Tarkin. 

“Medicines,” said Penton. 

“Tana?” asked the Commander, handing her a wristband. 

Tana struggled to remember. “Oh...”

“Electronic components, Tana,” the Commander reminded her, sternly. 

“Right, yes, sorry, Commander.”

The Commander shook his head and then spotted Adric. “Maybe you should go with her,” he said, handing Adric a wristband. “Make sure she doesn’t forget.”

“Certainly,” Adric replied. “What are we supposed to be looking for?”

“Tana, you’ve got the list, haven’t you?”

“Somewhere...” Tana felt about her person, finally finding it in her pocket, crumpled into a ball. “Yes, here!”

The Commander raised an eyebrow. “Will you be able to read it, crumpled up like that?”

“I think so.” Tana uncrumpled it and frowned. “Bubble chips, micro-unit wiring...”

Adric leaned over her shoulder. “I can read it if she can’t.”

“Well, then,” said the Commander. “Synchronise your ship trackers.”

All the crew members pressed the buttons on their wristbands. Adric followed suit. Penton smiled at him. “When we’re ready to return, we just press the second button and we can find our way back to the ship.”

“Very clever,” Adric commented. 

“Now, you all know what you’re doing. Once you have everything, I want no dawdling or sightseeing or getting lost or any other excuses! You are all to come straight back to the ship; is that clear?”

“Yes, Commander!” everyone chorused. 

“Right, off you go.”

Adric had never been to Digongadael before but something about it reminded him of Terradon, his home planet. To his surprise, however, he didn’t feel homesick thinking about it. Or, perhaps he wasn’t surprised. After all, he had stated twice now that there was nothing left there for him. There was nothing to miss. 

“Do you know where you’re going?” he asked Tana, who was studying her list again. 

“Yes,” she replied, “it’s the big building that says “Professor Briggs’ Electronics” on the sign.”

Adric scanned the landscape and nodded. “I see it.”

Big the building certainly was; and Adric half expected it to be like the Tardis, bigger on the inside. He was disappointed there. Professor Briggs, a man with very little hair, was tinkering with a large dome-shaped device that reminded Adric of a Dalek, even though it clearly wasn’t one. 

“Hello, Tana,” he greeted her, waving a spanner around at the room at large. “Just help yourself to what you need and pay me when you’re done.”

They were able to fill two large foldaway boxes with everything they needed. Adric was impressed that everything they required was all in the one store. Even more impressing was the fact that Professor Briggs actually treated Tana with kindness and not as if she were some clumsy fool. Even when she accidently knocked over what looked like a combination of the Doctor’s sonic screwdriver and an egg whisk, Professor Briggs seemed more concerned for her welfare and simply brushed off the miniscule damage done to the device as “it was old; it’s easily fixable.”

Tana smiled as they left the place. “He’s a bit eccentric, Professor Briggs, but he’s really nice.”

“He reminds me of the Doctor,” Adric replied. “When he’s in a good mood, that is.”

Tana giggled, uncertainly. “I wish we could wander, but we’re never allowed to.”

“The Commander does seem very strict about that,” Adric agreed. 

“I think he’s worried we’ll get lost or else we’ll all find a bar and get drunk and we won’t be able to take off,” Tana said, stumbling a little over her own feet. 

They found their way back to the ship, thanks to their wristbands. To Adric’s surprise, they were the first back, but then, he reflected, the others probably had to go further away for their supplies. He followed Tana upstairs to the electronics storage cupboard and helped her put everything away. She took great care, he noted, to make sure everything went in its proper place, efficiently and tidily. “If even a micro-chip is out of place, he’ll be extremely angry,” Tana explained, finally closing the cupboard door. 

Adric glanced at her. “Tana, are you scared of him?”

She shrugged. “Not really. I just don’t like giving him more reason to dislike me than he already does.”

Poor Tana, thought Adric. He had seen the way she was looked down on by her fellow crew members and whilst at first he had thought she was exaggerating about them disliking her, he was now beginning to believe that it was the truth. It wasn’t right. Tana might have her faults, who didn’t, but she wasn’t malicious or a suck up, like Masgar. She was...sweet. That seemed to be the only word he could come up with for her. 

He took a step towards her. “You’re not completely disliked, Tana.”

“I am,” she insisted. “I could probably learn to live with is if at least one person on this ship liked me but...”

“One person does,” Adric told her, and then he kissed her.


	8. A Step Closer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the events of Earthshock, the freighter crash lands on Earth, killing the dinosaurs but Adric somehow survives. He quickly finds himself aboard the Starship Persephone; but can he find a place to belong amongst the crew?

Adric couldn’t quite fathom for the life of him why he had done it. Something about Tana drew him in, like a mathematical puzzle. She was different, somehow, and she felt she didn’t fit in among her family unit, like he had in the Tardis. All he knew in that single kiss was that if ever there was any disagreement amongst Tana and the other crew members aboard the Starship Persephone, he would take her side. 

Tana, for her part, seemed stunned he had done it, but not in any way displeased or disturbed by his actions. She smiled at him, in a grateful way, and then ducked her head. Adric noticed the blush creeping across her cheeks and he was about to say something like “Sorry” or even “I don’t know why I just did that,” when the Commander called up to them “Tana! Have you put those components away yet?”

“Yes, Commander, all stored properly,” Tana replied, quickly brushing past Adric to hurry downstairs. He watched her leave. She hadn’t brushed him off in the way a person does as an act of revenge or spite, nor in the way a person does when they don’t want the other person touching them. No, it had been in a gentle, soft way. Was it his imagination or was it almost longing, her touch? 

He followed her down the stairs, just as Penton returned with a large box filled with medicine bottles. The box was clearly heavy and he looked to be struggling with it. Adric quickly seized an end of it. “Let me help you with that,” he said, quickly.

“Oh, thank you, Adric,” replied Penton, with a grateful smile. 

Masgar returned with the box of food supplies. She frowned at Tana. “What’s with you, Tana?”

Tana frowned. “What do you mean, Masgar? I don’t know what you mean.”

“Your face has gone all red.”

That only served to cause Tana to blush even more. Adric quickly came to her rescue. “Well, that’s probably because we were hurrying back to the ship, weren’t we, Tana?”

Dumbly, she nodded. “Masgar, pack the food away before it spoils,” commanded the Commander.

“Right away, Commander,” she replied, although she glanced suspiciously at Tana as she passed her. Tana ducked her head, picked up her headphones and went back to work. 

“Come, let’s put all these in my medical cupboard, Adric,” said Penton. 

As Adric helped him carry the box out of the room, he glanced once over his shoulder. To his surprise, Tana had turned her head to look at him. The Commander’s attention was now focused on Happin. “Thank you,” Tana mouthed at him. 

Adric smiled back at her and then turned his attention back to Penton. “Where’s the medical cupboard?”

“Left down this corridor,” Penton replied and then as they turned down the corridor, out of earshot of all in the control room, he said, in a calm tone, “So why is Tana blushing like the sun on Planet Totsien?”

Adric glanced at him. “Is she blushing? I thought it was because...”

“Come on, Adric, I wasn’t born yesterday. What have you been saying to her?”

It was Adric’s turn to flush. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“Adric.” Penton gave him a look the Doctor usually wore when about to say something along the lines of “You’re not fooling anyone.” 

Adric ducked his head. “It wasn’t so much what I said...” He took a deep breath. “I’d rather not talk about it, if it’s all the same to you, Penton.”

Penton smiled. “I see.”

“Please don’t say anything...to her or to anyone.”

“Just do me a favour, Adric,” said Penton, seriously now. “Look after her.”

Adric frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that you’re the only other person on this star ship who treats her like an ordinary person rather than a clumsy fool; and she likes you.” He fixed Adric with a meaningful look. “Don’t let her down. Don’t break her heart.”

Adric reddened even more. “I wasn’t planning to. Wait,” he added as they finally reached the cupboard. “What do you mean, I’m the only “other” person who treats her like she’s not a fool?”

“Well, I don’t,” said Penton, looking slightly insulted. “Because I know she’s not one. She’s got a clever brain under all that clumsiness.”

“I know,” Adric agreed, glancing around to check they were alone before adding, “to have wired up D84 like she did.” He hesitated. “She says no one on this ship likes her; I think she includes you with them too.”

Penton glanced at him. “I like her well enough; more than I like certain others on this ship.”

“Like Masgar?” Adric guessed.

“Exactly, but that’s just between the two of us.”

Adric smiled. “Well, just between us, that makes two of us.”

Penton laughed. “Anyway, as I say, I like Tana. As a matter of fact, I often think of her as a member of my own family, so I feel honour bound to ask you to take care of her. Look out for her. No one else on this ship will.”

Adric nodded. What his exact feelings were towards Tana he wasn’t sure yet, but he knew that whatever she did, he would always be one step behind her. 

He finished helping Penton put away the medicines. “What are all these for, anyway?” he asked.

“Oh, whatever illness might befall us on these voyages; radiation sickness, malaria, any kind of plague, fungoid infections, poisoning...”

“Poisoning?” Adric repeated.

“From poisonous plants or animals, or even gases in the air.”

“I see.”

Penton glanced at him sideways. “I mean it, Adric. I’m probably not long for this world; getting on a bit in years. She needs someone.”

Adric took a deep breath. “Look, Penton, I’m on Tana’s side whatever happens. I like her, a lot, and I don’t think it’s fair that she’s treated like a fool when she clearly isn’t one. I promise. I’m on her side.”

Penton nodded. “You’re a good boy, Adric.” He patted his shoulder. “I know I can trust you.”

Adric didn’t get much of a chance to talk to Tana alone for the rest of the day. Once everyone was back aboard the ship, Happin set the co-ordinates for Raxacoricofallapatorius and each crew member went about their work as usual. “Well,” said the Commander, turning to him, “have you made up your mind to stay, then, Adric? We are in need of a mathematician, after all.”

Tana looked up from her work. Adric glanced at her and then nodded. “Yes, I was hoping to stay, and I’d like to take up your offer of a position in your crew.”

“Excellent!” The Commander clapped him on the back and turned to the rest of the crew. “Attention, everyone, I have an important announcement to make. Young Adric here has decided to accept the position of ship’s mathematician here aboard the Starship Persephone.”

“Well, welcome aboard!” grinned Tarkin. 

“Excellent,” said Masgar.

Tana simply beamed at him. In her faltering distraction, her fingers slipped over the wrong switch on her console. Red lights began to flash and a siren began to sound somewhere in the ship. “Warning! Warning!” sounded the alarm as everyone started and looked around.

“Sorry, sorry, sorry!” Tana squeaked. She flicked the switch back and the ship righted itself at once. Everyone apart from Adric and Penton shot Tana an irritated look. The Commander sighed and looked at Adric. “Come on, I’ll find you your correct equipment.”

“Equipment?” Adric repeated, following him. 

“You know, laser calculators, high-tech astrology gear, all the usual-”

“But a notebook and pen would be all I’d need,” Adric insisted. 

“Really?” The Commander frowned. “Are you sure?”

“Trust me, I’d feel more comfortable with those.”

The Commander raised an eyebrow but didn’t argue. “Very well, then. I trust your judgement, Adric.”

“Do I need to wear a uniform?” asked Adric. 

“It’s not compulsory for you,” said the Commander, “since you’re not an Invertirite, so you wouldn’t be breaking our customs by not wearing one.”

Adric nodded. “I don’t think it would suit me, if it’s all the same to you.”

“Right, well, that’s fine,” said the Commander. “Oh, and of course, there’s the matter of appointing your assistant.”

“Assistant?”

“Rigg had Masgar as his assistant; perhaps she’d work just as well for you...”

“I choose Tana,” Adric said, bluntly.

The Commander stared at him. “Tana? But she’s-”

“She’s cleverer than you give her credit for,” Adric cut in. “And I trust her. I choose her.”

The Commander frowned. “Very...well...” he agreed, slowly. “I’ll let her know.”

Adric felt his mind was reeling. One second he was merely a passenger aboard the Starship Persephone and the next he was ship’s mathematician with his own assistant. It was mind-boggling. 

It was only later that evening he got to speak to Tana in private. He was sitting on his bed, about to take his boots off when he heard the rapid knocking on his door. He had a feeling, as he got to his feet, that he knew who it would be. After all, who else would knock on his door so vigorously? He opened the door. 

“Thank you so much!” Tana exclaimed, flinging herself at him. Adric, unused to such strong displays of affection, stumbled backwards into the room. Then, awkwardly, he patted her back until she finally let go of him. “For what?” he asked, bewildered as she beamed at him. 

“For making me your assistant! However did you convince the Commander to give me a chance?”

Adric smiled. “To be perfectly honest,” he said, closing the door and turning to her, “I still don’t think he’s entirely convinced. I just told him that you were cleverer than he thought and that I trusted you. Because I do,” he added, awkwardly. 

Tana looked flattered. “Well, thank you.”

Adric hesitated. “Listen, Tana, I’m sorry about...earlier, when I kissed you.”

She looked at him curiously. “Why? You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Well...” Adric didn’t know what to say. He hadn’t been expecting that kind of reaction from her. “I like you a lot and I didn’t know if that was out of line.”

Tana wriggled her shoulders and looked at her feet. “I didn’t think it was.” Adric said nothing, unable to think of what to say. “I mean,” Tana added, looking up at him, “I like you a lot too.”

“Just as well,” Adric stammered, “I mean, if we’re going to work togeth-!”

Tana flung her arms around his neck and kissed him. Adric was about to pull away when he realised...he didn’t want to pull away. Slowly, he wrapped his arms around her as she finally pulled away from him, looking embarrassed. “I’m sorry,” she stammered.

Adric smiled at her. “That wasn’t out of line, Tana.”

“No?”

“No.” To prove it, he kissed her again. She looked at him, wide-eyed, as if surprised that he wanted to kiss her. Adric was surprise himself. He had never had these kinds of feelings for anyone before in his life. But as he had told himself before, Tana was different. 

Hesitantly, she stepped back. “I should really be in bed. My shift starts early tomorrow.”

Adric nodded, understanding. She was as confused about all this as he was. He released her. “Right, well, I’ll see you in the morning, Tana.”

She went to the door but hesitated and turned back. “I’m really looking forward to working with you, Adric,” she said, blushing, feeling foolish.

He smiled at her. “That makes two of us, Tana.”


	9. Crush

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the events of Earthshock, the freighter crash lands on Earth, killing the dinosaurs but Adric somehow survives. He quickly finds himself aboard the Starship Persephone; but can he find a place to belong amongst the crew?

For the first time in a long while, Adric felt at home, now that he was back to doing professional mathematics again. He did try on the uniform that he found hanging in his wardrobe that evening, courtesy of the Commander, but whilst it fitted him well, it felt too starch and stiff to move in properly and as he had pointed out before, light blue wasn’t really his colour. So it was that he made his way to breakfast the next morning in the same clothes he had always worn. With his notepad and pencil in hand, he couldn’t help wondering if he looked like a mathematician at all. Back on Terradon, he had earned his badge for mathematical excellence and worn it proudly pinned to his tunic. However, this had been passed to the Doctor on their final journey together, in the hopes that the Doctor might be able to use the gold rim of the badge to suffocate the Cyber Leader, since the Cybermen were allergic to gold. Did it matter, though, he wondered, if he no longer had it, providing that the Doctor had done what he had hoped and put it to good use in destroying the Cyber Leader? 

No, he thought to himself, as he stepped into the canteen. Dale, the cook, gave him an approving nod and handed him a plate of breakfast. Adric had become used to the type of food the Invertirites ate. Like food from any planet, some of it was good, some of it was bad. Breakfast usually consisted of crempog, which looked like dark purple jelly cubes and which tasted something like a cross between cereal with milk and dried fruit. Adric picked up a fork from the cluttered mass in the box they were kept in and thanked Dale appreciatively. 

Dale, he had come to learn, was a gruff and often grumpy man, who was always grousing about something. He was a large man, both upwards and outwards, with dark hair and stony features; but he had a kind heart beneath that gruff exterior, even if he didn’t always show it. “You want some fanila with that?” he grunted now to Adric. 

Fanila were a type of sweet vegetables which looked like creamy flowers and which tasted like nothing Adric had ever eaten before. He smiled and shook his head. “No, thank you, this is enough.”

Dale nodded and then rolled his eyes at something behind Adric. Turning, Adric saw Masgar coming up to them. She smiled at him as she took the plate she was handed. “Thank you, Dale,” she said, in an almost smug tone. He grunted and made no response. Masgar turned her eyes on Adric. “Hello, Mr Mathematician,” she said, still in that same tone. 

“Morning, Masgar,” Adric replied. That was it as far as he was concerned, and he was about to turn and sit down at the table to eat when she grasped his arm. He glanced at her.

“Actually, there was something I wanted to talk to you about,” she said, sweetly. 

Adric raised one eyebrow. He had the feeling she was after something. “Oh, yes?”

Masgar pursed her lips, thoughtfully, as if deciding how best to shape her request, or question. Finally, she said “I just wanted to say, well, good on you for choosing Tana as your assistant.”

Adric was surprised. He had been formerly under the impression that Masgar didn’t like Tana; or at least looked down on her due to her clumsy nature. “Well,” he began, but she interrupted. 

“But do you really think that you’ve made the wisest choice there?” 

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well, I mean, let’s face it, we all know how she is.”

Masgar put heavy emphasis on the word “she” and she almost said it with contempt, vehemence even.

“How?” asked Adric, coolly. “How is she, Masgar?”

“Well,” she began, ready for an impassioned rant about Tana.

“Because I already know that she’s clumsy, but that doesn’t mean she’s incompetent, nor does it mean that she’s without intelligence,” Adric said. 

Masgar had her mouth hanging open and now she closed it. Her eyes seemed to register something as she looked at him, and then she smiled, smugly. “Oh! I see! Sorry, I didn’t realise that was the reason for you choosing her.” She put heavy emphasis on the word “that.” “Can I have some fanila, please?” she asked Dale.

He gave it to her with a grunt and she nibbled at it, saucily. “That?” Adric repeated, not entirely sure what she was implying. 

“Oh, you know, your little crush on her.” Masgar smiled, wickedly as she nibbled the fanila leaves. She looked like a child who knew more than it ought to. “Don’t feel bad; I think it’s sweet.”

Her tone suggested that she thought anything but. “There’s nothing going on between me and Tana,” Adric insisted. “You’ve got it wrong.” But even as he said it, he felt his face was flushing. 

“Please!” Masgar threw a hand up in the air dramatically. “Why else would you keep sticking up for her?”

“Because she’s my friend and she doesn’t deserve your criticism,” Adric replied, coldly. 

Masgar’s smile dropped. Her eyes hardened. “She doesn’t deserve to be on this ship either.”

“Hey!” Dale put in, feeling he needed to be some kind of referee in this conversation. He could sense an argument coming. 

“Do you know how much training that girl has had in spaceflight?” Masgar snapped, tossing her fanila down onto her plate and turning to Adric. Her voice was becoming increasingly higher as she continued her rant. “Hardly any! Three weeks at most! I have been studying it for ten years and I’m still only a cadet! Well, I can live with that, but I earned my position on this ship! Tana was only taken aboard because the Commander felt sorry for her! What does she know about mathematics? I spent two years observing Rigg’s calculations when he was still alive!”

Adric took a step backwards, away from her. Her voice had reached a supersonic pitch. “Then I feel sorry for Rigg,” he replied. “Tana has a good brain and she’s willing to learn.” He fixed Masgar with a look. “She’s brighter than you lot give her credit for.”

“Brighter?” Masgar laughed, in disbelief. “That girl?”

If she had been a boy, Adric would have hit her at that moment. Since, however, she was a girl, that was out of the question. “Masgar!” growled Dale, pointing his ladle at her. It was dripping with fanila and broad bean sauce. “That’s enough!”

Masgar gave a loud sigh. “All I can say is that when she does something that leaved you half dead on the floor of this ship, don’t come crying to me!”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Adric replied, drily. “But I highly doubt she’s that clumsy.”

Masgar scowled at him. “You just wait until you spend a year on this ship with her. You’ll see I’m right.”

“Even if that’s the case,” Adric said as she turned to sweep away from him, “I still pick her as my assistant. At least that way I can be sure of pleasant conversation.”

Perhaps that was a step too far, or perhaps Masgar didn’t really know how to react to that. Or perhaps it was just a typical Vinvocci reaction, to slap someone who insulted you across the face. In his entire life, Adric couldn’t remember ever having been slapped before. She didn’t do it hard, not enough to knock him off his feet, but it certainly stunned him. 

“That’s enough!” barked Dale, advancing forwards, still brandishing the ladle. Adric thought for a second he was going to brain Masgar with it. “There’ll be no roughhousing in my canteen!”

Masgar turned and swept from the room without a word. Adric, recovering from her slap, took a deep breath, exhaled and then proceeded to take his seat at the table. “Alright?” Dale asked him, in a softer tone, folding his arms. 

Adric looked at him. “Tell me, is my face red where she hit me?”

“No more than it is already,” Dale chuckled. 

Adric put a hand to his cheek. He felt very warm. “Sorry,” he said. “For all the arguing, I mean. Sorry.”

Dale shrugged. “It’s alright. If I was in your position, I’d be getting defensive too. I think it’s what some people call an automatic reaction.”

Adric was confused. “My position?”

“Well, when someone accuses you of having feelings for a person, even if their right, you deny it. It’s humanoid nature.”

“But I don’t have feelings for Tana,” Adric insisted. 

Dale put his head on one side. “Now I wasn’t born yesterday, Adric. More’s the pity,” he chuckled, playing on the fact that he was old enough to be Adric’s father. “It’s quite clear you like her.”

Adric sighed. “Well, if I do, why is it a bad thing?”

“It’s not.”

“Well, Masgar seems to think it is.”

Dale shrugged. “She just thinks you could do better. Me, I say you could do worse.”

Adric was glad he had said that and he got on with eating his breakfast. “That’s just between us, though, right?”

“Given the size of Masgar’s mouth, the others will probably find out anyway, but yes, if you like, my lips are sealed.”

Thankfully, it seemed, so were Masgar’s, as no one else seemed to notice whether Adric had a “crush” on Tana or not. He was glad, not because he thought a relationship between them, if any, would be forbidden, but because feelings were private and no one else’s business. So, he went quietly about his work and no one noticed if there was any change about him at all. 

Was there, though? He wasn’t sure. Was he treating Tana differently to the way he always had, or was he treating her exactly the same, when in public? He wasn’t sure. When they were alone together, of course he treated her a little differently; after all, he wasn’t about to go kissing her under the eyes of the Commander or the others. Now she was his assistant, however, they had ample time alone together for such matters, although they did spend more time working. Being ship’s mathematician kept him fairly busy and when Tana wasn’t helping him, she was working under the Commander. Even when they were alone in the same room together, they couldn’t be certain of not being interrupted. 

The only place they could be truly alone was in the storage room where D84 was being kept. His circuits still hadn’t charged properly, but sometimes Tana would flick him on whilst Adric helped her to repair him and he would join their conversations. Adric decided that he liked the robot. As far as robots went, he seemed almost human. He wouldn’t have been surprised when Tana opened his chest to show him the many wires and circuits inside, if D84 had a human heart in there, nestled amongst the wiring. 

“He is fascinating,” he told Tana after she had shut D84 down again. 

She smiled, clearly proud of herself for being able to fix D84 as he had done. “Did you have any robots on your ship, before?”

“Only one,” Adric replied, “a while back. K9.”

“Sorry?”

Adric grinned and leaned against the edge of the table, folding his arms. “K9. He was a dog-shaped computer robot belonging to the Doctor. He was great. He could get the better of the Doctor, particularly at chess, and he was good to have around in a crisis because he had a built in weapon.”

“What happened to him?” asked Tana, crossing around the table to stand beside him. 

“He went to live on Galifrey with our friend Romana,” Adric replied. 

“Galifrey? The planet of the Time Lords?”

Adric looked at her, in surprise. “You’ve heard about it?”

“I read about it in a book.” Tana hopped up and perched beside him on the table. “It didn’t say much about the Time Lords, just that they try to protect the universe from hostile creatures and that they can regenerate. Mainly it talked about the landscapes; it looked like a fascinating place.”

Adric smiled. “I bet it is. Well, who knows, maybe the Starship will take us there.”

“Perhaps, but I think it’d take a long time to get there.”

“From here, it’d take about 1,991 units,” Adric calculated, automatically and then winced. “Sorry, force of habit.”

Tana giggled and then leaned her head on his shoulder. Adric glanced at her again, well, at the crown of her head. Being this close to her, he released, he was perfectly comfortable. Everything he did with Tana he was perfectly comfortable with. He rested his head against hers. Maybe Dale and Masgar were right. Maybe he did have a crush on Tana after all...


	10. Raxacoricofallapatorious

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the events of Earthshock, the freighter crash lands on Earth, killing the dinosaurs but Adric somehow survives. He quickly finds himself aboard the Starship Persephone; but can he find a place to belong amongst the crew?

Alright, so he had a crush on Tana. 

Adric had always thought that he wasn’t capable of feeling like that about anyone, but then, he reflected he had never met anyone like Tana before. Innocent, sweet, clever, clumsy and somewhat vulnerable, and yet, something deeper too; she was feisty, not weak like people probably thought (and by “people” he meant the rest of the Starship Persephone crew.) He had met feisty women before; Romana, Nyssa, Tegan, to name a few, but he had never felt like this about any of them. He had cared about them, in a brotherly fashion, especially with Nyssa who often seemed particularly vulnerable and whom he had been somewhat close to; but not in such a way that he felt attracted to her. 

Tana was pretty, that much was obvious. It was her constant cheerful nature that drew him, in spite of what her fellows thought about her. He had seen her a little doleful a few times, but not completely sad. She seemed quite positive all the time, in spite of her tendency to accidently knock the wrong switch or trip over her own feet in her over-enthusiasm. “Over-zealousness,” the Doctor might say, Adric reflected with a smile. In his mind, he pictured the Doctor, in his cricket outfit, the sprig of celery pinned to his collar and hat in hand, standing beside him as he poured over calculations up on the top level, overlooking the stars. 

“Yes, she’s a nice girl, Adric,” he said, leaning over to watch the rest of the crew go about their work. “Got a clever mind on her too.”

“Is that important?” Adric asked, drily, with a smile. 

“Well, I would have thought given your flair for mathematics, you’d choose a clever girl,” the Doctor mused. 

Adric smiled. “I see your point, Doctor. Would you have her aboard the Tardis?”

“Why not? I mean, if she wanted to come travelling with us,” the Doctor said, pondering the matter. “Yes, she’d be welcome to.”

Adric knew it was only in his head, but he could picture the Doctor saying something like that to him; encouraging him to go after Tana. He was glad of it. 

“According to my calculations, we’re about 1, 832 unit away from Raxacoricofallapatorious right now,” Adric reported back to the Commander. “If we can travel at light speed now, we can shorten our journey to 332 units and save on the fuel in the normal speed tanks.”

“I like your thinking,” the Commander told him. “We’ll do just that. Everybody buckle up; Penton, have the pills on hand.”

Tana was sitting in her usual place, headphones on, but she couldn’t hear anything out of the ordinary and so she was lost in a daydream, until Adric gave her a gentle nudge. “We’re going into light speed,” he informed her. 

“Oh, thank you,” she replied, fastening her seatbelt. They exchanged a smile, not unmissed by Masgar’s watchful eyes. There was a spare seat since Tarkin was taking his rest, so Adric quickly filled it and fastened the seatbelt just as the ship made the jump into light speed. Stars rushed towards them and then the ship slowed and steadied itself. 

“Well, now,” said the Commander, “as our young mathematician here says, we should reach Raxacoricofallapatorious in, what was it?”

“332 units,” Adric repeated. 

“Exactly,” the Commander nodded.

“Hey, well done,” Zavvi smiled at Adric. “Good plan.”

Adric grinned. “Well, when I figured out that light speed cuts down our usual time by 1,500 units, it was simple enough to calculate.”

Tana gave him an admiring glance, he noticed, but said nothing. The Commander clapped him on the shoulder. “Well, you’ve been working hard all day, I think you’ve earned your rest break.”

Adric smiled. There was plenty of time for rest until they reached their destination, if his calculations were correct. He got to his feet. 

“Tana,” said the Commander, causing her to start. 

She removed her headphones. “Yes, Commander?”

“You’ve been working alongside Adric all day, you’ve earned a rest too. Masgar, take over.”

“Certainly, Commander,” smiled Masgar, smugly taking Tana’s headphones from her. Tana rolled her eyes, but said nothing and obediently got to her feet. Nevertheless, she smiled at Adric, showing that she wasn’t in any way unnerved by Masgar’s smugness. Positive through and through. 

Or so Adric thought. He was lying in bed, or rather on the bed, fully dressed, trying to rest, although it was very hard to settle for some reason, when he heard a soft knock on the door. He raised his head. That was Tana’s knock, wasn’t it? “Yes?” he called, slightly stunned in his state of fitful drowsiness.

The door opened and he turned to her. To his surprise, she looked distressed by something. He half sat up. “What? What is it?”

She wriggled her shoulders, trying to look careless. “Bad dream.”

Without waiting to be invited, she lay down beside him, facing away from him. Adric looked over at her. She tucked her arms beneath the pillow and pressed her cheek against it. “What about?” he asked. “Would it help to talk about it?”

“No,” she said into the pillow. 

Adric could appreciate that. After all, her secrets were her secrets. “Ok,” he said, settling back down to rest. 

“But I want to,” Tana said. 

Adric hesitated. “What happened?”

“I saw it. The nuclear fallout on Invertire; the one that killed my parents. I relived it again.”

Adric was still for a few minutes. “I’m sorry,” he said, remembering the time his brother had been killed by the Marshmen the first time he had met the Doctor. How painful that loss was, and he still felt it. Nothing could compare with losing a family member; and here Tana was talking about losing her whole family.

“I pushed that all to the back of my mind, a long time ago,” Tana said into the pillow. “But it keeps coming back to haunt me.”

Adric turned and saw that she was crying, silently. Comfortingly, he laid a hand on her shoulder. Tana turned to him and even though tears were spilling down her cheeks, she managed a small smile. She took his hand. No words were needed; the comforting sensation was enough for both of them. Both had lost loved ones, a long time ago, and had to cope with the pain of losing them. Neither had had anyone to turn to then in their hour of need, no one to comfort them then. Adric kissed her cheek and then rested his own against hers, gripping her hand firmly. 

They fell asleep like that. Adric woke up before she did, realizing that he’d practically fallen asleep cuddled up to her. It was a nice feeling, he realized, waking up that close to someone. He uncurled his hand from hers, as gently as possible so as not to rouse her, and sat up, rubbing his eyes. They must be nearly there by now. He reached down to pull his boots on. As he did so, he heard the Commander’s loud tones just outside the door. 

“We’re coming up on Raxacoricofallapatorious now,” said the Commander.

Without waiting for Adric to reply, the Commander stumped off to make it known to anyone else who was resting that they were approaching their destination. Tana raised her head and looked over at Adric. “Hey,” he smiled. 

“Hey.” Suddenly she was herself again, the positive Tana he had come to know so well. She pushed herself up, brightly, checking that her hair was still in place (it was) and straightening the straps of her flat black shoes. She got to her feet. 

“You alright?” Adric checked. 

She nodded, took a deep breath and straightened her blouse. “I’m glad I told you. About the dream, I mean. It felt good to share it with someone for once; someone who’d listen, anyway.”

Adric smiled. “I’ll always listen, Tana.”

She walked up to him and hugged him. Adric held onto her. What this actually was he had no idea; this relationship between them, but it didn’t matter. It was comfortable enough for the pair of them as it was. 

Raxacoricofallapatorious was, as people often described it, paradise with burgundy seas and four polar regions. It was, indeed, like no planet Adric had ever seen before. Even the Commander looked impressed, and he rarely looked impressed by whatever planet they landed on. “Now, remember, if any eggs hatch, the Raxacoricofallapatorians are programmed from birth to try and kill, so beware. The females can poison with their breath and poisoned darts concealed in their fingers, so wear the protective outfits and DO NOT remove them.”

To Adric’s surprise, however, instead of the usual weaponry, they were handed large bottle of vinegar from Dale’s supplies. Tana, noticing the puzzled expression on his face, smiled. “Raxacoricofallapatorians are highly allergic to vinegar and other forms of acetic acid.”

“Ah!” Adric remembered something he had read recently on the ship’s computer. “Because they’re made from living calcium, of course.”

“Take great care,” advised the Commander, before they stepped out onto the surface of the planet. The land was orange in hue and the sky was pretty much the same colour. What looked like large craters were scattered around their feet. Looking into one, Adric saw that they were nests, filled with large brown eggs with what looked like roots protruding from them. He smiled. Raxacoricofallapatiorian eggs. 

“Nothing out of the ordinary here,” said Zavvi, looking around. “This planet seems to be developing alright.”

“Wait!” Tarkin pointed at a nest none too far away from where Adric and Tana were standing. They both glanced down to see that one of the eggs was trembling. 

“Premature hatching!” exclaimed Masgar. 

“Get back, you two!” Zavvi commanded, and with that, the egg exploded. 

Adric stared down at the creature crawling out of it. Bulging green head, black tennis-ball eyes, long arms with long sharp claws. It was covered in what looked like green cobwebby mess, or yolk from the egg, maybe. At any rate, it opened its mouth and hissed at them. 

Zavvi started forwards but when the baby Raxacoricofallapatorian pounced towards her, she skidded to a half in her tracks. Masgar and Tarkin both whipped out their bottle of vinegar. At the sight of the stuff, the newborn shrank back, and then turned its eyes on Adric and Tana. Even though they were in their protective suits, the claws and teeth on the thing looked like they could rip through their outfits in a second. Pushing Tana behind him, Adric began to hustle them both back away from the newborn. Masgar and Tarkin advanced with their vinegar, Zavvi close behind them. Tana took a step backwards, tripped and landed with a yelp in an empty nest. Adric turned, distracted, and the newborn leapt over his head and pounced on her. 

“No!” Adric cried, throwing his bottle of vinegar onto the newborn before it would tear Tana’s uniform to shreds. The bottle smashed open, spilling the vinegar onto the newborn’s skin. With a hiss, it turned to him and then began to shake and seize up. 

“Did it-?”

Before Masgar could finish her question, the alien exploded into a green soupy mass that splattered everywhere. Tana blinked, glad that her suit and helmet had protected her from being covered in the stuff. 

Adric jumped lightly down beside her. “Are you alright?” he asked, pulling her to her feet. 

“I’m fine,” she said, brushing the remains of the newborn off her suit. “Thank you.”

“That was very quick thinking,” Zavvi commented. 

“Very,” Masgar echoed, slyly. 

If Tana caught the tone in her voice, she didn’t show it, and it didn’t look like anyone else cottoned on to what Masgar was implying. At any rate, Tana was alright. As far as Adric was concerned, that was all that mattered.


	11. Torture

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the events of Earthshock, the freighter crash lands on Earth, killing the dinosaurs but Adric somehow survives. He quickly finds himself aboard the Starship Persephone; but can he find a place to belong amongst the crew?

Penton hadn’t been with the cadets when they had ventured onto the surface of Raxicoricofallapatorious. Perhaps, being the ship’s doctor, he ought to have been, logically speaking, but as it was, he had only just woken from his rest period. Now, fully awake, he made his way into the main control room where the Commander and Happin had just heard the yelps coming from the cadets following the attack by the newborn over Zavvi’s radio. 

“Zavvi, what’s happening?” snapped the Commander. “Come in, Zavvi!”

“It’s alright, Commander,” she said, breathing very heavily, with relief. “A premature hatchling just tried to attack us.”

“Us?” repeated Adric. “Tried to attack Tana, you mean.”

“I’m fine,” she insisted. 

“It’s dead now,” put in Tarkin. “We killed it.”

Adric remembered the Doctor once telling him that he hated to destroy any form of life and only resorted to doing so when it was absolutely necessary. It made him miss the Doctor terribly. Zavvi looked around at the nests, nodded in a satisfied way and then said into her radio “No signs of life otherwise, Commander. Ought we to return to the ship?”

“Yes,” the Commander replied, without hesitation, “and take care that no one leaves anything behind that could tamper with the course of Raxicorcofallapotion evolution.”

From the way Tana winced when he said it, Adric got the feeling that the Commander was really aiming his words at her. As if to reiterate, Masgar took the spray bottle full of vinegar from Tana and turned smartly back in the direction of the ship. Tana sighed but said nothing. “Come on,” Zavvi commanded them, “you heard the Commander; back to the ship.”

When the others weren’t looking, Adric slipped an arm around Tana’s shoulders and gave her a comforting squeeze. She looked up at him, smiled and pressed closer to him. No words were necessary. They seemed to be entering that stage of their relationship; whatever kind of relationship it was that they had now. Together they followed the others back to the ship. 

“Time to leave, I think,” said the Commander, the second everybody was back aboard. 

“You’re alright?” Penton asked Tana, concerned, as she removed her helmet. 

“Yes, I’m fine,” she replied. “Thanks to Adric.”

“Yes, that was very quick thinking, Adric,” Tarkin commented. “I’m impressed; and that doesn’t happen very often, I can tell you.”

“Thanks, Tarkin.”

“You’re sure you’re alright?” persisted Penton. “You don’t need medicine or anything?”

She grimaced. “No, thanks! I didn’t like it the first time!”

Adric chuckled. “Now where have I heard that before?”

“Where?”

“From the Doctor.”

“Ah.”

“I’ll take some medicine,” said Masgar, fanning herself as she removed her helmet. “Vinvocci hearts are not designed for such great shocks!”

Penton laughed. “Well, you know where to find it, help yourself.”

Masgar went off to do so whilst the cadets set about for takeoff. Adric watched the planet fade away from them for the final time and felt somewhat relieved when he could no longer see it. Only now did he realise what might have happened if he hadn’t acted as quickly as he had done with the vinegar. If he had missed, or if the bottle hadn’t broken or something, well, what could have happened then? However thick the protective suits they were wearing were, the newborn still might have found some way of ripping through the material, if its sharp claws were anything to go by. If that had been the case, Tana could have been seriously hurt; cut or poisoned if the thing had been female. Hell, she might even have been killed. 

And yet, she didn’t seem too traumatised by what had happened. It was interesting, Adric thought, just when she seemed to be at her most vulnerable, she displayed again this sort of happy-go-lucky attitude he had become so used to. She was an interesting puzzle. 

“Where is our next destination?” the Commander asked Happin. 

“Planet Skaro, in the Seventh Galaxy,” reported Happin. Everyone turned to look at her in surprise. Happin glanced up and frowned. “What?”

“The Daleks’ home planet?” Adric said, remembering what the Doctor had once told him. 

“That’s Spirradon, I think you’ll find,” Zavvi cut in.

“No, he’s right,” said Tana. 

“Tana, get back to your work,” said the Commander, bluntly. 

“He is right,” said Tarkin. “The Daleks landed on Spirradon once but they were created on Skaro; perhaps you need to brush up on your history, Zavvi.”

Zavvi bristled at once. “Are you being insolent, Tarkin?”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” he muttered, rolling his eyes. 

“Stop this silly bickering,” snapped the Commander. 

“Is this going to be safe?” asked Adric. “Monitoring the development of the planet that’s home to the most dangerous creatures in the universe.” Whilst he himself had never personally met the Daleks, and had no desire to, the Doctor had told him enough stories about them to put him off wanting to go anywhere near a planet they had once been in contact with. 

“The Daleks won’t be created for at least five hundred years after their planet begins to develop,” Tana said, seeming as if she didn’t care if anyone heard her or not.

“How do you know that?” asked the Commander, raising an eyebrow.

“I read it in the history books, Commander.”

She isn’t incapable of reading, thought Adric, just because she’s clumsy. He didn’t dare say it, however; he had no desire to be punished in any way by the Commander. 

“How do you stand it?” he asked her later, when they were alone, trying to work out the co-ordinates for Skaro. 

“I don’t,” she replied, shrugging. “I guess I’m just used to it.”

Adric hesitated, glanced at the screen, checked his calculations and then glanced at her. “They treat you like an idiot when you’re far from that. You shouldn’t have to be used to it, Tana. They ought to treat you with respect.” 

Her answer was a shrug again. “Well, two people do and that’s enough for now, I guess.”

Adric smiled. “Penton does care about you a lot. And so do I,” he added, after a moment’s hesitation. 

She smiled and then stepped up to him. “I, um, I forgot to thank you, for saving me. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Adric told her, and then automatically, he hugged her. “I was really worried about you. Were you scared?”

“Just a little bit,” Tana replied. 

“A little bit?” Adric pulled back from her. “You were this close to death.”

She shrugged and smiled up at him. “I guess I knew you’d try and stop it, whatever happened.”

Adric kissed her, feeling that he could do little else at this moment. She was alive; she had cheated death, with his assistance, and suddenly he just wanted to kiss her. She kissed him back, with a sudden fierce passion. It was strange how she could make him feel so many different ways at once; and how he had never expected to ever want to feel like this until she came into his life. The Doctor was good at explaining things like this, but this was the one thing he had never got around to explaining to him. 

He didn’t realise that his hands had wandered into her hair until she suddenly twitched and pulled away from him, catching it as it fell in a waterfall motion from her neat bun. “Hell!” she exclaimed, diving the floor for some of the pins that had scattered to the floor. 

“Sorry,” Adric said, bending down to help her.

“Oh, it’s alright,” she stammered, dropping a few of the pins in her haste and then scooping them back up again. “I just need to get it back into place, quick, before someone sees.”

“Of course,” Adric remembered. “You’ve always got to keep your hair tied up in public.”

“Mm,” she agreed, looking up at him. Adric was taken aback. If she’d looked lovely before, she looked even more so with her hair hanging loose. 

“Does it really count as being in public if you’re only with me?” he asked.

“Um...” Tana quickly pinned her hair back into place and straightened up. Adric followed her. “I don’t know,” she confessed. “Probably best not to risk it. I don’t know what would happen if the Commander found out.”

Adric smiled and placed both hands on her arms. “Your secret’s safe with me.”

Unknown to them, however, Masgar had been shamelessly eavesdropping. She was insanely jealous of the fact that Tana had been elevated to the position that she herself had once occupied and all for the sake of a silly little crush. Now, she thought, she had the perfect opportunity to get the girl in trouble. Merrily, she made her way to the Commander’s quarters and knocked on the door. “Commander?”

“What is it, Masgar?” he asked through the door, in a weary tone.

“I have something I need to tell you. Something important. Tana has broken one of our customs.”

That caused the Commander to open the door. “You’d better hurry up and tell me which one.”

Moments later, a very satisfied Masgar skipped back to her own rooms. On the way, she passed Adric. He frowned. “What?”

“Oh, nothing,” she replied, straightening her uniform shirt and adopting a humble, serious expression. She sighed, airily. “It’s a shame about Tana, isn’t it?”

Adric was confused. “What is?”

“Well, about her hair?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, she’ll have it cut off. Commander’s orders, according to Invertirite customs.”

Adric stared at her. “Only I knew that...” He frowned at her. “How did you-?”

“The Commander has eyes everywhere on this ship,” she lied, “there’s no hiding anything from him.”

Allow Tana to suffer for something done by accident? No, that he would not do. Without a word, Adric brushed past her and hurried to the Commander’s room. “Commander?”

“What is it now?” groaned the Commander, opening the door. He frowned. “Adric?”

“Don’t do this,” Adric said. “Please. Tana doesn’t deserve to be punished.”

“She broke one of our customs; it is the law.”

“Then you have to change it,” Adric snapped, “because...because it was my fault.”

“Yours?”

“Yes.” Adric had no desire to go into detail how exactly it was his fault, so he didn’t elaborate. “It was my doing. She doesn’t deserve to be punished for it if it was my fault.”

The Commander stared at him. “I see.”

Adric got the feeling there was more to that “I see” than one might ordinarily think. “What?”

“You have feelings for her.”

Adric felt the colour rush to his face. “No, that’s not what this is!” he began. 

“If you’re willing to take punishment for her, then so be it.” The Commander looked over him, his features harsh. “There is a law in our book that should an outsider force one of our kind to break one or more of our customs, they must be punished for it.”

Adric swallowed. He had suffered harsh punishment before, back on the planet Deva Loka for one, and survived. Why should this be any different? He nodded. For Tana, any day. “Very well, providing she doesn’t get punished.”

“She won’t be.”

“Fine.”

“Fine.” The Commander shut the door behind him. “If you’d like to follow me, please.”

Adric followed him down the corridor. “I don’t like having to do this, Adric,” the Commander warned him, “to you or anyone. But we must uphold our laws, even far away from Invertire.”

Adric said nothing, he simply followed in anticipation, wondering what lay ahead for him. The Commander led him into a room he had never entered before, mainly because the door was usually locked, but today it was open. Adric followed him inside. The place was sparsely furnished; in fact the only furniture in the room was a chair. This sat in front of some kind of white machine, which looked like two enormous egg-shaped lights hanging down from the ceiling wired up to some form of control panel. On top of this control panel were the two imprints for an average humanoid to rest their hands in. From these protruded two metal-coloured straps, which, Adric assumed, were meant for strapping the person’s hands into place. 

“What is this thing?” he asked, going up to it. 

“You’ll know soon enough,” replied the Commander, grimly. “Try placing your hands in the sensors.”

Adric did so, just as the Commander flipped a button on the wall. Immediately the straps sprang into place, securing his hands. Adric struggled but it was no use. Dread and fear filled him. He had a feeling he now knew what this machine did. 

“Yes,” said the Commander, reading his emotions, “This is how those who cause us to break our customs are punished. I’m sorry, Adric, this is going to hurt me more than it’s going to hurt you.”

Adric met his gaze. “Somehow I doubt that.”

The Commander made no reply, he merely flipped another switch on the wall. The egg-lights began to glow and hum with a sizzle of electricity. The shocks began as a gentle vibration and then suddenly Adric felt as if a thousand pins and needles and other sharp objects were being driven into his body. Was this what it was like to be exterminated? Or to be hit with a Cyberman’s gun? Suddenly he knew what people meant when they said that they could see their life flashing before their eyes right before they died. Memories, fleeting, blurring into one, mainly of travelling with the Doctor and Romana and K9 and then with Tegan and Nyssa too.

But was he about to die? Or would the Commander let him live?

He had no idea.

Seconds felt like hours, or was it simply that time had stopped dead, frozen? 

And then, suddenly, somehow, it was over. Adric had forgotten what it felt like to not be in pain; to feel normal again. His limbs felt weak, everything ached. 

The Commander flicked the switch that had caused the straps to hold him in place and they unlocked at once with a loud click. Slowly, a millisecond at a time, Adric withdrew his hands from the sensors. 

“Sorry,” said the Commander, in an almost flat tone. “As I said before, it hurts me more than it hurts you.”

“As I said before,” Adric said, shakily. “I doubt that.”

He felt dizzy. The room was beginning to swim in front of his eyes. 

“I always knew there’d be something between you and Tana,” the Commander said, looking over Adric’s head as he spoke. “There’s always been some chemistry in the air with you two from the moment you stepped aboard this ship. But I never thought you’d take punishment in her place.”

That’s, thought Adric, unable to speak, that’s...

He collapsed to the floor in pain. The Commander stepped over him and left the room, leaving Adric to faint without looking back even once.


	12. Does It Need Saying?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the events of Earthshock, the freighter crash lands on Earth, killing the dinosaurs but Adric somehow survives. He quickly finds himself aboard the Starship Persephone; but can he find a place to belong amongst the crew?

“Adric? You alright, lad?”

Everything was blurred. There were outlines of shapes, moving slightly. Adric blinked, trying to remember what had happened to him. One minute he’d been...in pain...and now he remembered. Taking punishment for Tana. He wasn’t in pain anymore but his limbs felt weak, in fact everything felt weak, even body parts that weren’t meant to feel anything. 

That was Penton’s voice, he realised, and then everything swam into focus. Penton and Tana were both bending over him and something was cushioning his head. The second he opened his eyes properly, Tana’s head shot up and she addressed Penton in a panicked tone. 

“Is he going to be alright? Is there anything I can do? Please tell me if there is!”

“Tana, hush, he’s going to be fine,” replied Penton, soothingly. 

Adric rubbed his head, weakly. “Are you certain about that, Penton?”

Penton smiled. “It was designed to hurt temporarily, not permanently, Adric.”

“This is all my fault,” Tana moaned, shaking her head. 

Penton patted her arm. “Tana, can you pass me the syringe, in my bag, please?”

“Syringe?” Adric repeated. 

Penton nodded and held up a tiny bottle containing some clear concoction. “This’ll help bring the feeling back into your body faster. Trust me, I know what I’m doing.”

“Right,” Adric couldn’t help but smile, remembering someone else used to say something similar. “You’re a doctor.”

“Careful, Tana,” said Penton, as she rummaged in the medicine bag. “Don’t catch yourself on the needles.”

Tana said nothing, she merely concentrated on finding what she was looking for. “This one?” she asked, finally, holding up the syringe. 

“That’s the one,” Penton replied, taking it from her. Adric realised now that they were still in the room with the contraption used for punishing those who did wrong. “Dear Lord,” murmured Penton, extracting the de-numbing agent from bottle to syringe, “I never thought I’d be using this on you, Adric. I never thought the Commander would us that,” he nodded at the machine Adric had been tortured by, “on you, of all of us.”

“He did say that it would hurt him more than it would hurt me,” Adric remembered, automatically rolling his sleeve back, preparing for the injection. “Not that I believed him.”

Penton shook his head and checked the syringe was still working. “He has no right to do this to anyone. I mean, I know it’s our customs and all, but it isn’t right. They’re ancient customs, after all, why do we still feel the need to uphold them?”

Tana bit her lip. “Because the Commander needs a way to control us?”

Penton chuckled. “You’ve hit the nail on the head there, Tana. Brace yourself.” This last was to Adric, who had had injections before but braced himself even so. Tana looked away and he couldn’t help wondering whether it was because she had a phobia of needles of whether it was because she didn’t want to see him having one stuck in his arm. It only hurt for a second, and compared to what he had just been through, it was something of a relief. Penton offered him a comforting smile. “It’ll kick in shortly. Tana, could you please pass me my bag?”

As Tana leaned to one side to do so, Adric realised just what was cushioning his head. At the sudden revelation, his blood suddenly seemed to start pumping again or perhaps that was just the de-numbing agent kicking in. At any rate, it was perfectly comfortable to be cradled in her lap but perhaps he ought to try and put his heavy limbs back to good use, so he managed to push himself into a sitting position. “Atta boy!” Penton smiled. “Very fast acting, that stuff!”

Adric smiled and raked a hand through his hair. Much as he liked Penton, and was grateful for his help, he wished he could be alone with Tana, to explain to her why he had undergone such treatment. “Thank you, Penton, I think I’ll be alright now.”

“Well, just take it easy for a couple of hours,” Penton advised, gathering everything together in his kit bag and getting to his feet. “Tana?” She looked up at him and he gave her a tiny private wink. “I’m sure you’ll be able to look after him?”

She nodded, not trusting her voice to crack. Her mind was reeling. When the Commander had informed her of what had happened, she hadn’t known what to think. 

“You will be pleased to know that you will not be losing your hair,” he had told her, catching her alone in the canteen where she had gone to get a glass of water, only to find the place empty. 

“My hair, Commander?” she had asked, checking it was still neatly in place. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“I know you broke our custom, had it down.” She had blushed fiery red but then the Commander had continued “However, since I know now who is to blame, you will not be punished for it. Albeit, I had hoped never to have to use the Tormentor on Adric, but in this case, it was necessary. By all the powers of the universe, I hope I’ll never have to do it again.”

Tana had felt her heart racing in her chest. “What? I don’t understand.”

“Oh, I think you do, Tana. Because of you, he’s been through, well, you know the pain of the Tormentor, how awful it is. He insisted on it, because of you. I hope you’re proud of yourself.”

That was when Tana had run to find Penton and together they had found Adric slumped on the floor. That had alarmed her; she had never known anyone to faint from the pain of the Tormentor before. When he had opened his eyes, however, relief, a great wave of it, had washed over her. 

Penton nodded, turned and left the room. Adric looked at Tana. “It’s not your fault, this.”

“Yes, it is. You took that punishment for me. You took the blame for what happened.” Her eyes met his. “Why?”

Does it need saying? 

That was his first thought. “Because it was the truth,” he replied, lamely. “It was my fault, not yours.”

“I know, but you could have backed down.” Wrapping her arms around her knees, folding into herself, Tana looked up at him, like a nervous child. “It’s only my hair.”

But it looks so beautiful down. 

“You didn’t deserve to have it cut off,” he insisted, rubbing his eyes. His body seemed to be waking up quickly, although he didn’t trust his legs to support him more than a few steps just yet.

There was an awkward pause. Adric didn’t know whether to say something else or to take her hand or what. At any rate, Tana made the first move, shuffling up closer to him, wrapping her fingers around his and placing her head on his shoulder. “Thank you,” she said, finally. “You’re very brave.”

Adric wanted to say “I’ve had worse” but then, he reflected, that wouldn’t be entirely honest, unless, of course, you counted the crash in the space freighter. Instead he said, softly, “You’re welcome, Tana.”

She took a deep breath, exhaled and then seemed to make up her mind about something, moved away from him and got to her feet. Her eyes were fixated on the machine. Adric watched her, curiously. “What are you doing?”

“I’m going to deactivate this,” she said. 

Adric wasn’t so sure that was a good idea. He scrabbled to his feet. That wasn’t a good idea either; his legs didn’t feel solid enough yet and he’d got up too quickly. He stumbled and would have fallen over if Tana hadn’t caught hold of him and steadied him.

Isn’t this usually the other way around, he couldn’t help wondering, me catching her?

“Tana, you could get into serious trouble for this,” he told her. 

“They won’t know it was me. They think I’m incapable of something like this.” She turned her head once again in the direction of the Tormentor. “I won’t see anyone else getting hurt like this. Penton’s right. It’s ancient history, we shouldn’t have to stand for it now.”

Adric felt he could stand alone now, so he planted his feet very firmly and deliberately on the floor to show her that she could let go of him. Tana quickly turned and slipped beneath the part of the machine where he had had to place his hands. Automatically, Adric glanced down the corridor, but no one was in sight. He glanced back in time to see her fiddling with and pulling out wires and finally removing a small chip about the size of a coin. 

“How do you do that?” he couldn’t help wondering.

She smiled. “It comes easily to me, somehow. Like maths does with you.”

Adric threw a glance over his shoulder to double check that no one was around before he helped her to her feet. She held up the chip. “It can’t function without this,” she said, proud of herself for having found it. 

Adric couldn’t think of what to say to that, so he kissed her. For a second, he realised, whilst being under torture from the machine, he had thought he had seen the end coming (for a second time!) and he had wondered if he’d live to do this again. 

The same thought struck them both as they parted but it was Tana who voiced it. “How did the Commander know about my hair?”

Adric thought back to previously that day. What was it she had said? Apart from “Hell?”

“I just need to get it back into place, quick, before someone sees.”

“Of course, you’ve always got to keep your hair tied up in public.”

“Someone probably heard what we said about it coming down,” he said. 

“Masgar,” they both realized. 

Tana sighed and turned away from him. “She’s always trying to get me into trouble. I don’t know what she’s got against me.”

Adric had no idea either, although, he reflected, she had been rather sore about him choosing Tana as his assistant over her. “What are you going to do with that?” he asked, referring to the chip.

Tana looked at it, dropped it and then, with surprising vigor, jumped on it. Adric wondered if she was imagining it was Masgar’s head. Tana stepped off the chip, which was now in bits and smiled, satisfied. “They could never weld something as fiddly as that together.”

She seemed to be her old positive self again now; the self that Adric preferred. Brushing her hands of invisible dust, she looked at him. “Maybe you should be resting. Penton said to take it easy.”

Adric smiled at her. “Will you be joining me?”

“Yes,” she replied, a little too eagerly perhaps. Then, blushing in embarrassment, she added, “If you want me to.”

Adric held out a hand to her. “Come on.”

She took it. It didn’t matter, Adric decided, what this relationship was, or where it ended up. For now it was comfortable and Tana, well, if he was prepared to undergo torment for her, willingly, then perhaps he had a slight feeling he knew where it was going. But whatever it was, it worked. It didn’t need a name, even though he had a feeling he knew what it’s name would be. It didn’t require anything to be said, even though he knew the right things to say. Almost by some telepathic link, like the Tardis’s guidance systems entering your head to translate different languages automatically, their minds seemed to work together, like they just knew what the other person was feeling. 

That was why it didn’t matter what it was. That was why it worked.

That was why it didn’t need saying.


	13. Confession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the events of Earthshock, the freighter crash lands on Earth, killing the dinosaurs but Adric somehow survives. He quickly finds himself aboard the Starship Persephone; but can he find a place to belong amongst the crew?

An alarm was going off. For a moment, Adric ignored it, and then, realising that it must mean something awful was happening aboard the ship, he jerked awake. Sitting up, he saw Tana was beside him, blinking sleepily as the alarm woke her. “What’s going on?” she asked. 

“I don’t know.” Adric clambered off the bed and ran to open the door. In the corridor beyond, everyone was throwing caution to the wind and panicking. The ship was juddering, alarmingly. The alarm was still persistent and the red emergency lights were flashing. 

Tana appeared under his arm and her jaw dropped. “Oh, no!” she moaned, and then she wriggled past him and sprinted to the control room. Adric ran after her. “What’s happening?” he cried to the Commander.

“Black hole!” The Commander shouted back. “We’re caught in its pull!”

Tana hurried towards her seat, only to be shoved rudely aside by Masgar, who quickly began tapping away at the computer. “No good! We can’t break free of it, Commander!”

“There is a way!” Adric turned to the Commander. “Isn’t there an Arbediflan Programme locked into the ship’s computer?”

“Yes, yes, but it’s locked and no one can calculate-!” The Commander broke off as Adric gave him a look. “Well, go, boy, go!” he exclaimed. 

Adric darted to Masgar’s side. “Tana, I need you!” Masgar quickly moved as Tana stood beside him. Adric hurried to open the programme on the computer. Arbediflan Programmes were locked like mathematical puzzles, using combinations of numbers and calculations to create a very complex locking device. But, when unlocked, the ship could then be rescued from being pulled into the Black Hole, and whatever lay beyond it. To any normal person, the lock seemed impossible to solve, but Adric, it was as easy as tying shoelaces. However, just as he came to the last puzzle, the computer seemed to fail. “No,” Adric muttered. “What?”

“The circuits have been scrambled with all the shaking!” Tana cried, and she immediately fell to th processing unit. 

“Can you fix it?” Adric asked her. 

“You’re asking her?” exclaimed Masgar. “Great, now we’re all going to die!”

“Will you shut up?” snapped Adric. “Tana knows what she’s doing?”

“Tana does?” exclaimed Zavvi.

“Yes!” cried Tana, pulling open the grating beneath the console and feeling around, pulling out wires here and putting them back in there. “Yes, that’s it!” she exclaimed, slamming the grate back down again.

The computer fired up again and Adric felt his pulse racing as he completed the last puzzle in the lock. He beamed at her. “Well done!”

The Commander dashed forwards. “It’s unlocked?”

Adric nodded, and then pressed the button to activate the programmed. Immediately, and with a great deal more shaking, the Starship Persephone vanished, as if dematerialising from view, passed over the Black Hole and then appeared again, quite out of range of its pull. 

“We’re saved!” exclaimed Zavvi. 

Tarkin turned to Tana in wonder. “Where did you learn how to do that?”

Tana shrugged. “In a book I read a long time ago. It’s all stored up here.” She tapped the side of her head. 

“I don’t believe it,” said Masgar, calm now, and staring at Tana in wonder. “You, of all people...”

The Commander looked at Tana and actually smiled at her for the first time. “Well done, Tana. And well done, Adric,” he added, looking at him. “If it weren’t for the two of you, we’d all be dead.”

Adric smiled and said nothing, simply sat down in a nearby chair. 

“According to this,” Happin spoke up from the navigation console, “we should soon be arriving at Skaro in one more day now, but better than being dead, I suppose.”

“Commander!” exclaimed Zavvi, springing to her feet. “Confession!”

Adric frowned, confused, but all the others seemed to understand. “Ah, yes,” sighed Tarkin, folding his arms, “We didn’t do it. We’ve broken our custom.”

Adric looked at Tana, who explained quietly “In a near death situation, it’s our custom to confess something, anything, about ourselves before, well, before death.”

“We could do it now,” put in Masgar, quickly. “I mean, we’re not quite out of the woods now, right? That black hole could still turn supernova before we’ve put three leagues behind us!”

“She’s got a point,” said Zavvi. “Quickly, someone confess something!”

“I’m not from Invertire.”

Masgar’s jaw dropped and everyone turned to stare at the Commander, who looked guiltily at his feet, his cheeks red. “Why bother pretending anymore? I lived on the planet for two years before I became Commander of this ship, but I was born on Agora.”

Everyone stared at him a few moments longer, and then Tana sprang to her feet. “Then you had no right to punish any of us for anything we may have done!” she exclaimed. “You may be our Commander, but you’ve no more right to punish us for breaking Invertire customs than Masgar!”

Zavvi got to her feet. “Commander,” was all she managed to say.

“I know.” The Commander looked at Tana. “What you say is true. It was inevitable that you’d find out, I suppose.”

“Why pretend?” asked Adric. “Just to discipline your crew?”

“No, well, yes, no!” The Commander looked worried. “I thought my crew might not respect me if they found out I wasn’t truly one of them. I suppose I got a bit carried away with punishments.”

“A bit?” Penton spoke up for the first time. “You had no right to do any of it.”

“By rights we ought to kick you off the ship for lying to us,” Tana added.

Adric had never seen her look so fierce before; it was as if the Commander’s confession had made her realise that he was neither monster nor hostile being, just a humanoid, the same as her, and it brought her confidence. To his surprise, however, when Tana said that, several of the others looked at their feet. 

“If the Commander gets kicked off the ship, then I do too,” said Happin, putting her hands behind her back. “I’m not from Invertire either.”

“You’re not?” Masgar turned to her. “Where are you from, then?”

“Flane.”

Tana sank into her seat. Adric looked around at the rest of the crew. “Anyone else?” he asked. 

“Kylos,” said Tarkin, raising his hand. “I ran away from there when I was sixteen; got a job on Invertire, but I never really felt like one of them.”

“And I’m from Lvan,” Zavvi muttered. “And I know Dale is from Morestra; he confessed it to me a long time ago. I’ve been keeping his secret ever since.”

Adric glanced at Penton who sighed. “Poosh,” he confessed. “Born and bred.”

No point in asking Masgar, since everyone knew she was Vinvocci, and they also knew that Adric was from Teradon. That only left one person. Everyone glanced pointedly at Tana. She took a deep breath. “I am from Invertire; but my mother was from Ralafea, and my father was from Aractus, so even though I was born there, I’m sort of, well a mongrel, I guess.” And, with that, she pulled down her hair and shook it out. “And I’m fed up with this! All these rules we have to live by! We’re not even on Invertire anymore and now it seems than none of us are really from there!” She looked up at the Commander. “Why have we been living like this?”

“It’s my fault,” the Commander said. “I failed to be honest with you all. I assumed you were all from Invertire, and so I ruled over you as you would be ruled over there.”

“We’re all to blame,” said Zavvi. “None of us wanted to be found out for what we truly were.”

The room was silent for a moment. “What now, then?” asked Masgar, slowly. “I take it that you’re not going to cut Tana’s hair, or punish her for speaking back to you, Commander?”

The Commander took a deep breath. “No. She’s right. I’ve never had any right at all to do that to anyone aboard this ship, and I apologise profoundly to each and every one of you all.”

Adric took a deep breath. “Maybe, then, as Commander, you ought to issue some new rules. Like, no one has to follow Invertire rules or customs anymore?”

“And no punishments,” added Happin. 

The Commander nodded. “Yes. Yes. From now on, the Starship Persephone will be a free ship for all the crew. No more dictating. No more punishment. It’s taken a near miss with a black hole to make me see that, after all these years, that is no way to run a ship.”

Tana ran a hand through her hair, looking relieved at being able to finally do so in public. “Then we are a free ship,” Zavvi concluded, “and you are still our Commander, no matter what your race.”

“Wait, hold on!” Tarkin, grinning, held up his hands. “Aren’t we still confessing? It’s Masgar’s turn!”

Masgar flushed a darker shade of green and ducked her head, smiling. “Alright, alright.” She took a deep breath. “There’s someone on this ship I’ve always been a little jealous of. Someone who’s pretty and unafraid of anything and often really cheerful and positive no matter what.”

Tana raised her head. “You’re jealous of me?”

Masgar shrugged. “Yeah. Always have been. Sorry.”

To the surprise of everyone, including Masgar, Tana got up and hugged her. “I thought you didn’t like me!”

“Um...”Masgar looked awkward and then patted her until Tana let go. “Well, I’m Vinvocci, we’re not always great at expressing our true feelings.”

Everyone laughed. “That’s putting it mildly!” laughed Tarkin, causing Masgar to blush even more. 

Tana glanced at him. “I think you’ve got something else to confess, Tarkin.”

“What?” Tana gave him a look and he stared at her. “How did you know?”

“I’m observant,” she replied, sitting back down beside Adric. 

“What?” The Commander glanced from one to the other.

It was Tarkin’s turn to fllush. “I have a crush on Masgar.”

Masgar stared at him. “What?”

Tarkin flushed deeper. “I...like you. A lot.”

“Oh.” Masgar looked surprised, and then flattered. “Well, I like you a lot too.”

Adric was reminded of having a similar conversation with Tana, and he smiled. Zavvi turned to him. “What about you, Adric? Anything to confess?”

They all looked at him. Adric shook his head. “Nothing that no one on this ship doesn’t already know.”

Tana met his gaze and they exchanged a quick smile that confirmed everyone else’s suspicions about the truth behind Adric’s words.


	14. Onwards to Skaro

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the events of Earthshock, the freighter crash lands on Earth, killing the dinosaurs but Adric somehow survives. He quickly finds himself aboard the Starship Persephone; but can he find a place to belong amongst the crew?

The crew of the Starship Persephone quickly settled down into a more comfortable, relaxed atmosphere aboard their ship. There was no more secrecy; if someone had a problem or a concern they stated it openly. Well, all except for Tana, who had been advised by Penton that it would probably be best to keep D84 just between the two of them and Adric for the time being. “I think everyone’s had their fair share of secrets aboard the ship for a while,” he had said. 

Adric had to agree with him. For his part, he was glad that none of the crew had to live in fear of their lives or sanity any longer; although he was still somewhat angry with the Commander for having inflicted punishments upon them all with no right to do so whatsoever. Oh, not for himself, he didn’t care about that, but for Penton, who always treated him with fatherly affection, and Tarkin, who talked to him as though they were best friends, and Tana, who could never seem to do anything right in the Commander’s eyes, even though she had helped to save them from the black hole. He had been grateful enough at the time but now he had gone back to his usual sadistic custom of snapping at her for her clumsiness whenever it occurred. As such, Adric had taken to shooting him angry looks whenever the Commander snapped at Tana. The Commander never seemed to take any notice of this, however, and still treated Adric in the same cordial manner as before.

The twelfth time it happened, Tana couldn’t contain herself any longer and giggled. “You might as well give up,” she told him. “He’s not going to take the blindest bit of notice of you.”

The pair of them were alone in the room Adric had been assigned to as ship’s mathematician. The computer had a fault and Tana was lying underneath the small console to fix it. No longer was her hair pinned up in a flawless bun; now it hung in a low loose ponytail out of her eyes, sweeping like water every time she moved. Adric was supposed to be calculating co-ordinates but he was temporarily distracted by her. He sighed, dropping his notebook and pen onto the console and squatted down beside her. 

“Well I’m fed up of him treating you like an idiot.”

“I don’t mind.”

“I do.”

Tana sensed a moment of déjà vu behind his words and, pushing herself out from underneath the console, she sat up straight. “Why?”

Adric, taken aback by her response, flinched. “What?”

Tana held out her hand. Adric realised and took it, helping her to her feet. Now level with him, Tana didn’t drop her hands from his as she looked him straight in the eye. “You know what it’s like, don’t you?” Before Adric could respond, she gave a soft laugh and stepped closer to him. “That’s why you’re getting so het up about this.”

Adric relaxed his shoulders. “You’re right,” he admitted, once again reflecting on how he had often felt like the outsider of the group within the Tardis. There was that, and then of course there was the other reason he objected to the Commander’s dismissive treatment of Tana, the reason he was certain that she already knew. 

Tana smiled and glanced at the computer. “It’s working now, by the way. It was just a glitch, nothing to worry about.”

Adric returned her smile. “Right.”

She looked up at him and he got the feeling that she wanted to ask him something. “What?” he prompted when she didn’t say anything. 

Tana bit her lip. “What did happen that day? Before we found you on Earth?”

Adric had been expecting something like this for a while, and whilst he had been unwilling to talk about it before, he realised that following all that had happened between them since stepping about the Starship Persephone, he wanted to tell her everything. Still holding her hands, he led her over to bench and they sat down together. Work could wait for now, he decided; this was more important. 

“How much do you know about the Cybermen?” he asked.

“Cybermen?” Tana looked and sounded surprised. “Well, quite a bit, actually. They come from Mondas; they used to be humanoids but they swapped all their body parts for robot parts, so they’re now emotionless machines and-”

“And they want to take over the universe, starting with Earth,” Adric finished for her. “Well, on my last adventure with the Doctor, Tegan and Nyssa, we had an encounter with them. They’d planted a bomb in an underground cave in the twenty fifth century, a bomb that could destroy the entire planet. The Doctor and I deactivated it, but the Cybermen had sent some androids to guard the bomb and make sure that no one tampered with it. We followed the signals from them to a space freighter outside the solar system, where the Cybermen were hiding. Their backup plan, if the bomb failed, was to crash the freighter into Earth; and they put a lock on the navigation controls to ensure we couldn’t deactivate it. I did my best to, but it caused the ship to jump back 65 million years ago...to the point in time when those dinosaur things were wiped out.”

Tana nodded. “The freighter crashing into Earth was what killed them.”

Adric gripped her hands, firmly. “I was this close, Tana, this close to breaking the lock when an injured Cyberman shot the keyboard. I’ll never know if I was right.” Tana winced and Adric realised he was gripping her hands a little too firmly. “Sorry,” he apologised, releasing her hands. 

Tana gave him a sympathetic look and then wrapped her arms around him. Adric returned her hug, wondering what kind of mental empathy Tana had that gave her insight to other people’s feelings. 

“Did you even get to say goodbye?” Tana asked. “To the Doctor and your friends?”

“Not properly,” Adric admitted. “I think at the time I thought they’d be able to come back for me. I mean, they probably would have if they could...” He sighed and tightened his grip on her slightly. “I think something must have happened to them. Something bad. If there was only a way to find out...”

Tana nodded. “Penton always says the not knowing is the hardest part.” Gently she released him and looked at him. “Isn’t there any way you can contact the ship?”

Adric sighed. “I wish it were that simple, Tana. I don’t think it even had a radio transmitter.”

“Oh.” Tana slumped her shoulders. They sat in silence for a while. “I wish there was something I could do,” she said, eventually.

Adric smiled at her. “It’s alright, Tana. Besides, who knows, I might run into the Doctor again someday.”

He didn’t really believe that but he didn’t want to depress Tana or himself any more. He got to his feet and went over to the control panel. Time to get back to work, he told himself. 

Tana got up and was about to pick up her screwdriver from the floor when Adric caught her by the hand, swung her about to face him and kissed her. Startled, Tana blinked at him and then smiled. “What was that for?”

“I’m sure I can think of a reason,” Adric replied, returning her smile.

Tana laughed and then pushed him softly away. “You need to get back to work and so do I.”

“Very wise,” said Penton, entering the room, wielding a large syringe containing some green liquid substance. “The Commander might have accepted your relationship but he won’t thank you if you spend more time kissing that working.”

Tana blanched at the sight of the needle. “Oh, not again!”

“It’s not safe to venture onto Skaro without one of these,” Penton reminded her.

Tana groaned. “What is it?”asked Adric, eyeing the syringe equally as warily. 

“Radiation medicine,” Penton replied. “Though it’s not due to materialise on Skaro for hundreds of years yet, it has to have come from somewhere in the first place, so better safe than sorry. Now,” and here he grinned broadly at them, “who’s first?”

Squeezing her eyes tightly shut, Tana rolled back her sleeve and held out her arm to him. “Good girl,” Penton said, admiringly. 

Before he touched her with the needle, however, Tana groped about behind her with her free hand until she found Adric’s. Smiling, Adric squeezed her hand, comfortingly as Penton administered the medicine. He glanced at Adric and rolled his eyes at Tana’s fear. “How many injections have you had whilst aboard this ship, Tana?”

She shrugged. “Lost count.”

“And you still get scared?”

Tana blushed deeply. “I just don’t like needles, Penton, you know that.”

Adric covered her hand with his other hand. “Well, you can look now, it’s over.”

Tana smiled up at him as she opened her eyes. Penton filled up the syringe with another dose of the medicine and flicked the end of the needle. “You next,” he told Adric, brightly.

“You know, there’s nothing wrong with being scared of something completely irrational,” Adric told Tana later that evening. The Doctor had once said the same thing to him. The pair of them were curled up on Adric’s bed, quite comfortably, and though Tana had her back to him, Adric could almost feel her smile in response. 

“I know, but isn’t it a bit embarrassing sometimes?”

Adric smiled. “I’ve seen the Doctor jump at the smallest of disturbances before now.”

Tana raised her head to look at him. “What about your other friends? Nyssa and Tegan?” For a second Adric wondered whether she was feeling jealous, and then she added, in a tone of pure curiosity, “were they from Galifrey too?”

Adric shook his head. “No, Nyssa was from Traken, and Tegan was from Earth.”

Tana said nothing for a few minutes, thinking all this through. “Then, I don’t understand why you say you felt like an outsider.”

“Because no one ever took me seriously,” Adric sighed. “Like the Commander still doesn’t take you seriously.”

Tana pressed closer to him. Just her close presence was enough. Adric closed his eyes. Then Tana broke the silence. “Adric?”

“Yes?”

Tana sat up, looking thoughtful. “How come you liked me?”

Adric opened his eyes, confused. “Sorry?”

“When you first met me, how come you didn’t think I was annoying or a nuisance like everyone else did?” 

Adric looked her straight in the eyes and told her the truth. “I’m not entirely sure.”

Tana, much to his surprise, smiled and lay back down again beside him. Adric glanced at her. “You’re alright with that?”

Tana laughed, softly. “That’s sort of how I felt when I first met you. Or maybe it was just the fact that I thought you needed some looking after.”

The rest of the night passed in silence as Skaro eventually began to loom up on the Starship's scanners.


End file.
